Ronaldo Returns to Team Training Ahead of Korea Match... "50-50 Chance of Playing"

Return to team training after three days... 23 players train excluding 3 injured
Final Group H third match of World Cup against Korea at midnight on the 3rd
Coach Santos: "Ronaldo's chance to play against Korea is 50%"

Al Shahaniya training ground's Portuguese Ronaldo. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Lee Gyehwa] Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo (37, unattached) appeared at the final team training session ahead of the last group stage match against South Korea in the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

On the afternoon of the 1st (local time), Ronaldo trained with his teammates at Al Shahaniya SC training ground on the outskirts of Doha, Qatar. This was his first team training since playing the second group stage match of Group H against Uruguay on the 28th of last month (Portugal won 2-0). On the day after the match, the 29th, he participated in indoor recovery training along with other starters. He focused on recovery alone on the 30th as well. A Portuguese national team official explained that Ronaldo does not have any physical problems such as injuries.

About 10 minutes before the training start time of 5:30 PM, players began entering the training ground one by one. Ronaldo appeared on the field together with Pepe (Porto). After 23 players including Ronaldo warmed up with light passing, they started ball circulation drills. Danilo Pereira, who has a broken rib, and Nuno Mendes, who injured his leg muscles (both from Paris Saint-Germain), as well as Ot?vio (Porto), who is recovering from injury, did not participate in the training. Ot?vio is expected to rest until the match against South Korea and prepare to return for the round of 16.

Portugal will play the last Group H match against the South Korean national team led by coach Paulo Bento at Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan at 12:00 AM Korean time on the 3rd. Having already secured advancement to the round of 16 with two consecutive group stage wins, Portugal intends not to hold back against South Korea. If they finish second in Group H and advance, they are likely to face Brazil, ranked number one by FIFA.

Portuguese national team coach Fernando Santos and the players all agreed that their goal is to finish first in the group. However, with some injured players and others having received yellow cards in the previous two matches, it is uncertain whether they will field their full-strength squad. There is also a possibility of resting key players in preparation for the round of 16. Ronaldo played 88 minutes in the first match and 82 minutes in the second.

Ronaldo previously scored a goal against Ghana, setting a new record by scoring in five consecutive World Cup finals tournaments. Currently with 8 goals in World Cup finals, if he scores one more, he will tie with Eus?bio, who holds the record for most World Cup goals by a Portuguese player with 9 goals. Coach Santos said at a press conference on the 1st, "Ronaldo will train today. If he is in good condition, he will play in the match." He added, "There is a 50-50 chance he will play against South Korea. We will decide after seeing the training."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.