Portugal will not be distracted by the furore surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo as they look to get their World Cup campaign up and running, says Ruben Dias.
Ronaldo’s inflammatory interview with Piers Morgan has been the hot topic ahead of Portugal’s opening Group H match in Qatar against Ghana on Thursday at Stadium 974.
Portugal’s captain insisted no issues have been caused in the squad, despite what seemed a frosty exchange with his now ex-Manchester United team-mate Bruno Fernandes on the latter’s arrival to the team’s training camp.
Centre-back Dias, however, shrugged off any chance of Ronaldo’s situation proving to be a distraction.
“I don’t think Cristiano’s affairs have put a dent whatsoever into what we are trying to achieve here, so I don’t have much to say about it,” Dias said in a press conference on Tuesday.
“I think we’ve talked about this enough, there’s not much to add. As a team, we will focus on the World Cup now and not other issues.
“We’re focused on winning against Ghana. The best way to win is to focus on one game at a time and that’s the best way to have a successful path ahead of us.”
Progressing from Group H will not be a simple task for Portugal.
Uruguay and South Korea are the other teams in the group, while Ghana head into their fourth World Cup with a talented squad, albeit one that is the youngest in the tournament.
Inaki Williams, who has switched allegiance from Spain, is a threat up top, with Mohammed Kudus and Thomas Partey enjoying fine seasons with Ajax and Arsenal respectively.