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The captain of Portugal hopes to show Hojlund and Denmark his celebration while the two parties meet in the districts of the League of Nations.
Cristiano Ronaldo responded to the imitation by Rasmus Hojlund of his famous “Siu” celebration, saying that it was an honor to see the Denmark striker imitating him during their confrontation of the UEFA Nations League.
“For me, it was not a problem,” said Ronaldo on Saturday, before the second stage of their quarter -final.
“I knew it was not because he had no respect for me.
“I am intelligent enough to understand that not only him, but in the world, people from other sports are also doing my celebration,” the Portuguese star told journalists before the confrontation on Sunday.
“For me, it’s an honor.
“But (Sunday) I hope he will be able to see my celebration. It’s ok for me. If I score, it’s good for me, but if I don’t score and someone else, that’s fine.”
Hojlund scored the winning goal against Portugal in the first leg of their quarter -final on Thursday and jumped into the air for his own version of the celebration “Siu”, but said that he was not trying to make fun of his “idol”.
The shot of Manchester United FOROD in the 78th minute won Denmark a 1-0 victory in the first leg against Ronaldo Portugal, with the 40-year-old veteran striker completely frozen at the other end during a frustrating night.
“I play against the best footballer in the world, my idol, and to mark and become the winner (match), it could not be better,” Hojlund told Denmark TV2.
“It was not to make fun of him or anything, I always said that he had great importance for me and my football career.
“Marking against him and Portugal is enormous, I went to see him in 2009, where he marked from a free kick, and I have been a fan since.”
Meanwhile, Ronaldo recognized the pressure surrounding Portugal as they seek to reverse the deficit.
The Al-Nassr striker was very critical of himself and the performance of his team during the first leg in Copenhagen, but he is convinced that the local crowd can play a key role by overthrowing the link.
“The air is more tense. I do not hide it. We are in a tense moment because we have to win, but it is the beautiful thing about football,” Ronaldo told journalists on Saturday.
“Tomorrow, I call fans to be with us. Let them give us their strength, because we will try to do our best.
“I lost matches in 90 minutes, but I never lost in the first leg. There are matches like that, there are bad days. I did not play at all the other day, the team did not play at all, but it is a part of life.
“Tomorrow, I want to leave the Alvalade stadium with my head high. If I score, I will be happy, but if I do not score, let someone else mark, what I want is that Portugal wins.”
Ronaldo denied any lack of attitude in the team and was convinced that they could unite and progress in the semi-finals.
“There is always an attitude in the national team. Technical aspects, of course, but other things were missing too. It is football, you cannot always play well,” he said.
“There is no need to be nervous. The past is the past. I know that there are a lot of people who want us to lose, but if the few who are there are united and have good energy, I am sure that we will get an excellent result tomorrow.
“We lost the match and played badly, but we have the second step tomorrow. Calm down. Think positive and think things are going well.”