Gary Lineker has deemed Cristiano Ronaldo's inclusion in a 'worst XI' of the World Cup group stage as "absurd".
Ronaldo is a free agent after leaving Manchester United by mutual agreement in November on the back of his controversial interview with Piers Morgan. However, the 37-year-old remains part of Fernando Santos' international squad and scored in a record-breaking fifth World Cup when he put away a penalty in Portugal's victory over Ghana.
That goal is the only one he scored in the group stages, though, despite efforts to claim Bruno Fernandes' goal in the 2-0 win over Uruguay. He may have to do something he has never done before - score in the knockout stages of a World Cup - to redeem his tournament.
A worst XI has been doing the rounds on social media, with reports suggesting it only includes those involved for more than 60 per cent of their team's minutes. Ronaldo is one of just two players in the XI to have made the knockout stages, with Matthew Leckie - Australia's goal hero against Denmark - the other.
Qatari players take four of the other nine spots, with Meshaal Barsham considered the worst regular goalkeeper in the group stage. Canada and Costa Rica have two representatives apiece, while the final member of the XI is Saudi Arabia midfielder Abdulellah Al-Malki.
Lineker wasn't convinced by Ronaldo's inclusion, though. Indeed, he described it as " Absurd nonsense" in a tweet.
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Portugal will take on Switzerland in the last 16 after claiming top spot in their group despite losing their final game to South Korea. The Swiss also advanced with a record of two wins and one defeat, with a second-half winner from Remo Freuler helping them beat Serbia in a decisive final group game.
The two nations have already met twice in 2022, with one victory apiece in the UEFA Nations League. Ronaldo scored twice in a 4-0 victory for Portugal, before an early goal from Haris Seferovic settled the reverse fixture in Switzerland's favour.
Ronaldo is due to decide on his next club after the World Cup concludes, with reports of at least one offer from Saudi Arabia on the table for him. Al Nassr are reportedly keen on the veteran, as are fellow Saudi side Al Hilal.
Ronaldo has also opened up about a spat with an opponent as he was substituted in the defeat. “Before my substitution, one of their players was telling me to leave quickly,” he said. “I told him to shut up, he has no authority, he doesn't have to say anything.
“I would speed up the pace if the referee said so. He doesn't have to. There's no controversy, it happened in the heat of the game.
"We're in the next stage. We have to be, not only players, but all Portuguese people, because we want to go through and that's what we're going to try to do."
