CAMPINAS, Brazil — The most scrutinized knee in the World Cup was on display again Friday as Cristiano Ronaldo practiced with his Portugal teammates. And that was all anyone could talk about at the team’s base, with scores of cameras zooming in on the reigning world player of the year’s every move, twitch and gesture.
Team officials sighed when asked about the status of Ronaldo, who has been struggling with a leg injury since before the tournament. At the team’s news conference, the majority of the questions were about Ronaldo, even though he wasn’t the one answering them.
Teammate Helder Postiga said he was sick of it.
“After the training today there were 10 players applying ice on themselves. We used three bags of ice! That cannot be a reason to create so many rumors about Cristiano,” he said. “Cristiano is training; he’s fine. He is going to be important for us. He is going to help the team. We all have a common goal. Ice is just an exercise, something normal after training. You need to take it more naturally.”
As Portugal held its final World Cup training session before departing for a crucial game against the United States on Sunday, Ronaldo took part in some light workouts with the first team, followed by stretching. He was smiling and appeared at ease as he took part in a playful game of keep away from teammates.
Ronaldo has been hampered by tendinitis and a muscle injury since before the tournament, creating plenty of speculation about how he would perform in Brazil.
Portugal was humiliated in a 4-0 defeat by Germany in their opener. Another loss and the fourth-ranked team in the world could be eliminated even before its final Group G game against Ghana.
Team officials dismissed reports suggesting that Ronaldo could be risking his health by playing, saying they were tired of having to deny every rumor. They noted he often plays with a brace — actually a binding of athletic tape prevalent on NBA courts — and said he’s healthy and would play against the US.
The Americans are confident their defensive depth can stop Ronaldo in their match in the Amazon rain forest capital of Manaus.
“He’s a complete player,” midfielder Michael Bradley said Friday from the team’s camp in Sao Paulo. “When you look at the game today, there’s such a premium on the physical aspect of the game — speed, strength, endurance — and he is a guy who checks all those boxes. And then when you talk about his technical ability — the way he shoots with his right foot, his left foot, how good in the air he is — he’s somebody who can make the difference at any moment.”
The 29-year-old forward with the perpetually gelled hair has topped 50 goals in four straight seasons with Real Madrid. He was voted FIFA player of the year in 2008, then in January ended Lionel Messi’s streak of four consecutive awards. (US coach Jurgen Klinsmann, by the way, didn’t even have Ronaldo on his player of the year ballot; he voted Franck Ribery first, followed by Gareth Bale and Radamel Falcao.)
Right back Fabian Johnson, left back DaMarcus Beasley and central defenders Geoff Cameron and Matt Besler figure to fixate on Ronaldo. Bradley, Kyle Beckerman and Jermaine Jones will assist in marking him from the midfield.
Coming off a 2-1 opening win over Ghana, the US could possibly clinch advancement with a win and would put itself in excellent position with a tie.
“We have a lot of respect for Cristiano. He’s a great player. But I think you have to respect for the whole team of Portugal,” Jones said. “When we stick together like a team and fight like we did it against Ghana, then I think we have chances to win this game.”