England take on Portugal tonight in their final preparation for Euro 2016. Roy Hodgson admits he picked Portugal because they have a special player in Ronaldo similar to their Group B rivals Wales and Gareth Bale.
The England manager will have to rethink his preparation, however, as Ronaldo will not take part in the Wembley friendly on Thursday night.
Ronaldo has been given a week off before the tournament after a gruelling season with Real Madrid that finished with 120 minutes against Atletico Madrid last Saturday night. He played 48 games and over 4,000 minutes as los Blancos secured the 11th Champions League title in the club's history.
Hodgson outlined his plans to keep Ronaldo in check as preparation for Gareth Bale on the 16th of June, “One of the things we thought about was that Cristiano Ronaldo is a very special player, a very special talent and an unbelievably influential figure for every team he has played for.”
“We were thinking Gareth Bale plays in a similar position for Wales. So when we picked Portugal we were not only thinking about their technical qualities, and the fact they are a very good football side, but also the fact they have a special individual,” Hodgson continued.
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