Roy Hodgson has claimed England will not fear Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal if the two countries meet in the Euro 2016 second round, insisting that names and reputations will count for nothing.
England will discover their round of 16 opponents on Wednesday evening following the outcome of the final fixtures in Group F, with the runners-up set to face Hodgson's team in Nice next Monday.
Portugal are the most formidable potential opponent, with Iceland, Hungary and Austria also in the running for second spot in the group. But despite the threat posed by Real Madrid forward Ronaldo, Hodgson admits he has no concerns about facing a team beaten by England at Wembley less than a month ago.
“If it is Portugal, it is Portugal,” Hodgson said. “I know one thing, I would rather play Portugal in the round of 16 than not be in the round of 16. We beat them at Wembley in another 'attack versus defence' type of performance and what's more, they have only taken two points from their games so far.
“And who knows ? If we play well in a game like that, people might say you were lucky to get Portugal because you might not have done the same thing against an Albania, Northern Ireland or Czech Republic.”
England secured a 1-0 victory against Portugal at Wembley last month, with the visitors playing for over 55 minutes with 10 men. Ronaldo was also absent after being rested following the Champions League final, but with the former Manchester United player still to score his first goal at Euro 2016, Hodgson claims that his status as one of the world's greatest players will not be a factor.
Hodgson said: “I think we have seen in this tournament that it is not about names and reputations, it is what teams do on the field.” – The Independent