Conceição: No obligation to pass to Ronaldo

Francisco Conceição, a Portuguese forward, has clarified that there is no obligation for players to pass the ball to Cristiano Ronaldo. He explained that passes are made based on who is best positioned at the moment, driven by instinct rather than the identity of the teammate. "There is no one like him [Cristiano Ronaldo] with the quality to score goals, but we don't have that obligation to pass him the ball," Conceição said.

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No one like him [Cristiano Ronaldo] with the quality to score goals, but we don't have that obligation to pass him the ball. I speak for myself, I pass the ball to whoever I think is best positioned at that moment. There is no time to think about the face of the teammate next to me, we do everything by instinct, it's milliseconds.

Conceição, who plays for Juventus, admitted that Portugal's performance in their World Cup match against DR Congo was not up to standard. He stated that the team did not execute their strategy well and needs to correct their play for the next game. "Our football is always offensive, but we did not execute the plan well and we know that the way of playing was not the best. We have to try to correct it for the next game," he added.

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Our football is always offensive, but we did not execute the plan well and we know that the way of playing was not the best. We have to try to correct it for the next game.

Looking ahead to the match against Uzbekistan, Conceição emphasized the need for a "knife between the teeth" attitude. He acknowledged that the team felt the impact of their opening draw but are accustomed to pressure. "In the World Cup, mistakes must be minimal. We didn't win the first game and now we have the knife between our teeth because we have to win the next one," he stated. Conceição believes Portugal has the quality to win their remaining group games, despite the initial setback.

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In the World Cup, mistakes must be minimal. We didn't win the first game and now we have the knife between our teeth because we have to win the next one. We are going to try to improve. With the attitude of the first game and improving the quality, I think we can win.