FIFA World Cup: Ronaldo aims to improve his embarrassing record in Portugal’s crucial Round of 16 clash vs Switzerland

Goal machine Cristiano Ronaldo will hope to get the monkey off his back when Portugal lock horns with Switzerland in the Round of 16 phase of the FIFA World Cup 2022 on Wednesday. After topping Group H and finishing ahead of South Korea, Ghana and Uruguay, Ronaldo-led Portugal are eyeing a quarter-final berth in the ongoing edition of the FIFA World Cup.

The 2016 European champions will meet Xherdan Shaqiri-starrer Switzerland in the last 16 of the Qatar World Cup at the Lusail Stadium. Talismanic forward Ronaldo will continue to lead Group H winners Portugal in the knockout stage of the showpiece event. Portugal are eyeing its first-ever World Cup title in Ronaldo’s likely last campaign at the grandest stage.

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Ronaldo, who opened his World Cup 2022 account by scoring a penalty against Ghana, will be eager to increase his goal tally to remain alive in the race for the Golden Boot. Nicknamed CR7, the former Manchester United star also has a dubious record under his belt in the Round of 16 stage of the FIFA World Cup. The all-time leading goalscorer in the international arena, Ronaldo has never scored a goal for Portugal in the Round of 16 phase of the FIFA World Cup.

Speaking ahead of Portugal’s Round of 16 match against Switzerland, head coach Fernando Santos revealed that he was unimpressed with Ronaldo’s gesture after the veteran forward was substituted during his team’s final group game. “I didn’t like it at all. I didn’t like it at all. Then these matters are resolved, resolved in-house. They are over. It is the end of the story regarding this issue and now we’re thinking about the game tomorrow and everyone is fully focused on the match preparations,” Santos told a news conference.

Ronaldo has failed to find the back of the net after scoring the record-breaking goal against Ghana in Qatar. The former Juventus and Real Madrid star is the only player to have scored a goal in five editions of the FIFA World Cup.