Morroco coach Herve Renard is struggling for a plan to stop Portugal star man Cristiano Ronaldo on Wednesday.
The North Africans will take on the Seleccao at the Luzhniki Stadium and a loss will dash their hopes of qualifying to the round 16 stage of the Fifa World Cup.
Cristiano bagged a stupendous hat-trick against Spain in a 3-3 stalemate on his side opening fixture. At 33, he is now the oldest player to score a hat-trick in World Cup history and has also drawn level with Ferenc Puskas as Europe’s most prolific international goal scorer with his 84 goals.
For Renard, it will be impossible to halt the Madeira-born star from netting but he expects a lot from the whole Portuguese side.
📸 L’équipe nationale s’est entraînée cet après-midi au stade Loujniki, où aura lieu la rencontre face au Portugal demain. #CM2018 #DimaMaghreb pic.twitter.com/7kUJYlKKgF
— Maroc (@EnMaroc) June 19, 2018
“Even if you find the best plans to halt Ronaldo, he will create a way to break free. He always makes the difference, at the minimum to put his side on the right track and at best to win the game for them,” Renard told a press conference on Tuesday.
“Those who try to mount a plan against him, he always manages to find something to make the difference. He’s an exceptional player. The word may not even be strong enough, but we must do everything to make it less exceptional.
“If we put three on Ronaldo, they have so much offensive quality. If it only happens once in our lives to play Cristiano Ronaldo, you have to be the best you can.”
The Atlas Lions need a win to maintain their hopes of staying in the Russia-hosted competition.
