Santos: Ronaldo focused on winning World Cup amid club speculation
Cristiano Ronaldo's club future may be unclear but Portugal coach Fernando Santos insists the 36-year-old is dreaming about playing at and winning next year's World Cup.
Ronaldo has been linked with a move away from Juventus this close season, including speculation linking him with MLS, along with a possible return to Real Madrid.
Amid that, Santos moved to clarify that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner was committed to playing for Portugal at the World Cup as they chase their maiden Jules Rimet Trophy.
"[Cristiano] has a big dream, that one I know," Santos said.
"He has this big dream of participating in what we are setting out to do, that is the goal of playing in a World Cup and winning it.
"That is the main goal, the rest has to stay away from the national team."
Ronaldo has played at four World Cups, with Portugal's best result during his time being in 2006 when they came fourth in Germany, while they were knocked out in the last 16 in both 2010 and 2018.
Portugal finished third at the 1966 World Cup before failing to qualify again for the tournament for another 20 years.
They won Euro 2016 with Ronaldo scoring three goals in the campaign, although he went off injured early in the final.
Portugal will return to competitive action later this month with World Cup qualifiers against Azerbaijan, Serbia and Luxembourg.
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David, King demand more from Soca Warriors in October window as League A survival on the line
Trinidad and Tobago’s interim head coach Derek King and captain Aubrey David were left ruing the Soca Warriors’s sub-par performances in the September window, which has their Concacaf Nations League, League A survival in the balance.
The Soca Warriors, who lost their opening contest 0-4 away to Honduras, were heavily favoured to take three points off French Guiana in the following encounter at home, but they were instead held to a goalless stalemate.
This was much to the disappointment of King, David, and the many spectators that flocked the Dwight Yorke Stadium, as that result left the Twin Island Republic sitting at the foot of Group B on a point. Jamaica (four points), Nicaragua (four points), Honduras (three points), Cuba (two points), and French Guiana (one point) complete the group.
The Soca Warriors now face a must-win scenario in their next two fixtures against Cuba on October 10 and 14 to have a slim chance at making the top two for a quarterfinal berth, but more importantly to avoid relegation to League B.
Having made the quarterfinal in the previous edition of the Concacaf Nations League, David believes there is a need for individual and collective introspection as they need to raise the standard of their game.
"It was a sad result for us. It's a draw, but it feels like a loss for us because three points would have put us in a good position in the group once again. Unfortunately, we didn't get going. We need to reset again because we have two important games coming up,” David said as he reflected on the outcome of their contest against French Guiana.
"I think we as a team have to look at ourselves in the mirror and go back to the drawing board and look at the things that brought us success in the last campaign. I think we need to be humble and have that hunger to get good results,” he added.
Alvin Jones echoed similar sentiments.
"I think each and everyone has to look in the mirror and decide what they want—whether we want to play big football or we just want to compete. I think we have a lot of work to do mentally and physically. Each and every player,” he noted.
Meanwhile, King, who was appointed ahead of the tournament following the dismissal of Angus Eve, felt his team could have done more to secure the three points against French Guiana.