Cristiano Ronaldo has been told he will cost Portugal a place in the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup.
The superstar has started all three of Portugal's games so far, scoring in the win over Ghana in their first outing of the tournament. They will now face Switzerland in the last 16 on Tuesday, having finished top of Group H, despite a shock defeat to South Korea on Friday.
A Selecao are one of the favourites to win the tournament, one of the only trophies that Ronaldo has not won during his incredible career. But former Premier League winner Chris Sutton does not believe that Portugal will progress past the Swiss.
Instead he believes they will crash out on penalties, with Ronaldo predicted to miss the crucial spot-kick in the shootout. Sutton believes the match will be drawn 1-1, with Ronaldo to miss the "decisive spot kick".
"Switzerland were really passive against Brazil and didn't manage a shot on target but their other games in Qatar give us a better idea of what to expect from them here," Sutton told BBC Sport.
"Portugal have some excellent players but the Swiss will be full of confidence here after the way they overcame Serbia to get to the last 16, and they also beat Portugal when they played them in the Nations League in June.
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"This will be close and I have a feeling Cristiano Ronaldo will have a big say in the outcome - although not necessarily in a positive way. It is a risk versus reward scenario for Portugal if they pick Ronaldo.
"Because his influence on the team is massive but they might have a better starter who should be in the side. If this tie goes the distance, how long should he stay on the pitch?"
This is not the first time Ronaldo has fallen foul of Sutton during this World Cup, with the Portugal captain having been labelled a "cheat" after the win over Ghana. Ronaldo won the penalty he scored from after going down under the challenge of Mohammed Salisu, with Sutton slamming the attacker.
"It isn't good play by Ronaldo. It is a terrible example to young kids everywhere around the world. Everyone will be tumbling over. He is a great player. But it was cheating. I thought the officials had to be stronger," he told the Daily Mail.
"It was embarrassing really how they missed it. I was at the Brazil game and I saw the footage. Blimey - you don't have to watch it many times to see that he went over. Totally manufactured. Out of order. The VAR officials shouldn't miss that.
"I was reading comments saying it was a penalty. It is ridiculous and cheating. I know he has his fans within the media and around the world but come on. That was awful."
Ronaldo is almost certain to captain Portugal at the Lusail Stadium on Tuesday night. The winner of the clash will go on to face Spain or Morocco in the quarter-finals.
