“Don’t Defeat Us Alone”
Kuntz declares war on Ronaldo
03/22/2022, 3:55 p.m
Turkey narrowly missed qualifying for the World Cup. Coach Stefan Kuntz, however, leads the team into the playoffs – where it is now up against Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portugal. But the superstar alone doesn’t stand a chance either, says Kuntz with self-confidence.
Stefan Kuntz has that special sparkle in his eyes again. The 59-year-old is determined to achieve great things with the Turkish national team. “We have nothing to lose. And when a team has nothing to lose, it is particularly dangerous,” said Kuntz, looking ahead to the World Cup playoffs. Cristiano Ronaldo will have noticed.
From Thursday it’s all or nothing – the last tickets for the World Cup finals in Qatar (from 21 November) will be awarded to European teams. And Kuntz wants to be there against all odds. First, his team around former Bundesliga star Hakan Calhanoglu has to face the clear favorites Portugal in Porto (8.45 p.m./DAZN and in the ntv.de live ticker) push through. Then, five days later, European champions Italy could wait.
Statistics speak for Ronaldo and Co.
But Kuntz is currently only looking at the Iberians around Ronaldo, for whom it could be the last World Cup at the age of 37. He is accordingly “focused” and, despite “great respect” for his opponents, expressed the claim that Portugal had a “rightful” place at the world event.
Ronaldo and coach Fernando Santos’ Selecao have a lot of experience and the statistics speak for themselves: Turkey has never won a competitive game against Portugal. Kuntz wants to change this, also by blocking the pass paths to the opponent’s star. “He’s an absolute role model, but he can’t defeat us on his own,” said the 1996 European champion, who had real success by reaching the playoffs.
Now Kuntz wants more, and the Italians around Roberto Mancini should also be very interested to see who prevails at the Estadio do Dragao. In “Path” C for one of the remaining three World Cup tickets, the Azzurri are the possible opponents in the final. But first the European champions have to prevail against North Macedonia in Palermo on Thursday. “We have to focus on winning, we don’t need to talk about anything else,” said coach Roberto Mancini. The drama of missing the 2018 World Cup should not be repeated under any circumstances.
Alaba “hasn’t played a World Cup yet”
Even since 1998, Austria has not been at the biggest football tournament – and things are slowly getting tight for the “golden generation” around ex-Bayern star David Alaba. “I haven’t played a World Cup yet, none of us. It’s a huge goal for us,” said the 29-year-old: “It would certainly be a dream come true for me.”
First, coach Franco Foda’s team has to beat Wales, who also have a top star without World Cup experience in Gareth Bale. After that, it’s unclear how to proceed. Ukraine’s duel in Scotland has been postponed for the time being and could only be played in June – if at all.
It is not yet clear how the world association will solve the problem with regard to the draw for the World Cup preliminary round groups on Friday next week (April 1st).