Cannavaro on Cristiano Ronaldo: ‘It’s not a head-to-head’

Fabio Cannavaro has called Cristiano Ronaldo “one of the greatest” and said Portugal have given Uzbekistan plenty of reason to “fear” as the World Cup winner prepares his side to face the Selecao on Tuesday in their second leg of the final.

The White Wolves were level until the 65th minute of their 3-1 opener against Colombia, playing after Ronaldo attracted criticism for a quiet display during the Selecao’s 1-1 draw with DR Congo.

“We have to focus more on him because Cristiano can score a goal in every type of situation: free-kicks, even from a corner,” said Cannavaro, who netted in Italy’s 3-1 win over the Portuguese team captained by Ronaldo in a friendly in 2008.

“We have to be careful when we are in our box because we cannot leave this type of players alone.”

2026 World Cup: How Ronaldo is ‘the best’

Captain Ronaldo was touched for the second of a few times in the World Cup match against the Leopards, scoring a few points in a 1-0 win over the Netherlands in 2006 with four red cards.

Portugal coach Roberto Martinez continued to defend his selection of the 41-year-old, who has set a record 143 goals but has not found the back of the net in his last five World Cup appearances and has one goal in eight appearances in the finals.

“When you have football, you need a lot of personality,” explained Martinez. “You need to be very clear on how you enter the opponent’s area, but you need that player who opens spaces in the last move.

“And Cristiano is very good at doing that. The numbers show that – not the numbers of the icon Cristiano Ronaldo, but the current national team player, if you look at the last 32 games.

“He is a player with that movement, the opening of the space, the movement off the ball, the finish…, in a way, he is the last piece in the model of the game that we have in Portugal.”

The oldest player in the final, Ronaldo had started in each of Portugal’s 18 matches at the tournament before coming on as a second-half substitute in their 2022 quarter-final win over Switzerland.

Portugal vs Uzbekistan: Martinez on World Cup pressure

Considered as the title contenders, Portugal have one of the most experienced teams in the finals with a number of highly successful players at club level.

After Paris Saint-Germain’s Joao Neves had put Portugal ahead in the sixth minute in Houston, Newcastle’s Yoane Wissa scored against DR Congo in extra time in the first half to earn his country their first point at the finals.

Martinez sent on Francisco Conceicao for Bernardo Silva at half-time and made attacking changes in the second half by replacing Rafael Leao and Goncalo Ramos with Pedro Neto and Vitinha, but Portugal had one effort on target and DR Congo proved to be the better of the late winners.

The Spaniard said he has “never had a game without noise” since the “first day” of his tenure in January 2023.

“The noise directed at the coach, the noise directed at anyone,” he added. “We have already shown that the team is experienced, focused and responsible, and we have reached a good level on the field.

“We are in the World Cup, there is a lot of noise here, and that is part of it.

“That’s what I see in the dressing room, we are focused, very strong and I can say that the team is more united than before the World Cup.

“It’s a process, it’s been 22 days of work, and the sound doesn’t enter the dressing room.

World Cup 2026: How Uzbekistan can ‘get away with it’

Ranked 54th in the FIFA rankings, Uzbekistan are 45 places below Portugal but one above Ireland, who beat Martinez’s side 2-0 in a qualifier last November and scored both goals before Ronaldo was sent off.

“We can’t focus on just one player, Cristiano,” 2006 world champion Cannavaro understandably wanted to stress.

“We know that he is one of the greatest players of all time but we know that Portugal has many good players and talent, even on the bench.

“This is not a game to confront Cristiano.

“If you look at Portugal, you will be afraid because they have two strong midfielders, they have the best midfielders in the world, they have one of the best strikers in the history of football, so it is not easy.

“But we are here in the World Cup and we have to play the game and we have to work as a team because that is the only way to get out of here with a result.

“If we think about playing on an individual level, it will be very difficult.”

Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal World Cup 2026 schedule

Here’s what Portugal’s schedule looks like and the likely next fixtures, as well as how to watch in the UK.