At World Cup, Portugal Is a Lot More Than Cristiano Ronaldo

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after Portugal's Diogo Dalot scored their side's third goal during the UEFA Nations League soccer match between the Czech Republic and Portugal at the Sinobo stadium in Prague, Czech Republic, on Sept. 24, 2022. Petr David Josek/AP Photo

For the last two decades or so, Portugal arrived at every major tournament with all eyes on Cristiano Ronaldo.

The team’s hopes of doing well at World Cups and European Championships were mostly dependent on whether Ronaldo could successfully lead his team to victory.