Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal will face the Spanish national team in the World Cup Round of 16, renewing an Iberian rivalry with everything on the line, as CR7 just confirmed in the final press conference before the next stage of the knockouts that this indeed the last World Cup of his career.
Ronaldo will be going up against Barcelona's supestars on Spain, the reigning European Champions, and while their biggest superstar and the biggest superstar of the future in world football, Lamine Yamal, has been quieter in this World Cup than he was at the last Euros, he is still a massive threat.
In true sporting fashion, Cristiano threw some praise over at the teenage sensation, praising how Yamal has been playing and his bright future, though he did also praise Spain as a whole. After all, their best attacker of the tournament has been the underrated striker Mikel Oyarzabal.
Cristiano Ronaldo is ready for Lamine Yamal
Ronaldo told reporters at the press conference before Portugal vs. Spain, via Fabrizio Romano, “Lamine Yamal has a bright future. He’s doing very well and his future will be great. But I always look at Spain as a team and they play very well”.
One of the hallmarks of legends like Cristiano Ronaldo is that they are incredibly honest. They are honest about themselves, including how great they are or the flaws of where they are in their career, and they are, most of all, honest about the strengths of their opponents.
Ronaldo knows that Spain are not going to be an easy team for Portugal to beat. They already had to suffer to beat his old Real Madrid friend Luka Modric and Croatia, and Spain are an even stronger team with bigger players like Lamine Yamal, Pedri, Pau Cubarsi, Oyarzabal, and still more stars of La Liga and the world.
Yamal is a real spark plug who can win games on his own, and he both has a bright present and future that Cristiano is not going to shy away from praising and acknowledging, despite the fact that he is still a part of the historic Real Madrid and Barcelona rivalry.
Cristiano vs. Yamal is a rare matchup but one that could help define this World Cup. It is a bit early for two heavyweights to be up against each other like this in the World Cup, but as a Real Madrid superstar, Ronaldo knows that the best paths to the title are always the more difficult ones.
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