5 Reasons Cristiano Ronaldo Should Not Retire From Portugal After World Cup 2018
2. The Team Needs Him
Ronaldo's opening group game performance against Spain and his subsequent match-winning goal against Morocco proved that while Portugal might have some good talent coming through, the team still has a bit of a reliance on the Real Madrid man as their primary goalscorer. Young players like André Silva, Gonçalo Guedes, Bernardo Silva, and Rony Lopes can have a big impact on the national side's future, but Ronaldo is still the main man for now.
He scored four of Portugal's six goals at the competition and helped the team get to the World Cup in the first place with an astonishing 15 goals in qualification. Without him leading the line, it's easy to imagine that the current Portugal squad could have much more of a struggle to actually even qualify for future tournaments.
Ronaldo is often compared to Messi, with both men being hugely important to their national sides, but Argentina can call on other top class forwards like Agüero and Dybala to see them through if Messi isn't around, whereas Portugal are a little more dependent on Ronaldo right now. If the squad wants to have a chance of defending the Euro title in 2020, Ronaldo needs to be a part of it.