World Cup 2026: Portugal coach Martinez told to drop Ronaldo

Former Aston Villa captain, Gabriel Agbonlahor, has urged Portugal manager Roberto Martinez to consider dropping captain Cristiano Ronaldo from his starting XI as they prepare to face Uzbekistan in their next World Cup tie.

Agbonlahor insisted that Ronaldo has passed his best, adding that he is not holding the ball up.

This comes after the Al-Nassr forward suffered criticism for his display against DR Congo this week.

“I don’t think he should [start]. I look at Portugal, I look at the players that they’ve got, I look at other strikers that maybe they could have played in front of Ronaldo,” Agbonlahor said on talkSPORT.

“But when it isn’t going well, take him off. That is the only problem I have with it. If you are going to start him and it’s not working, 55-60 minutes off.

“It’s not working. He’s not holding the ball up. He’s coming too deep and trying to play a number 10.

“CR7, for whatever people think, he’s past his best. End of story. But its ego, isn’t it? Cristiano Ronaldo, you could say, is bigger than Portugal. Well, he is. Messi, his biggest rival this generation, has won the World Cup. Messi scored a hat-trick in his first game. Ronaldo’s thinking, I can do that.”