"Performance worthy of a team captain" - Portugal boss Roberto Martinez salutes Cristiano Ronaldo's showing for Portugal in WC qualifiers

Portugal manager Roberto Martinez has hailed national team captain Cristiano Ronaldo after his performance against Hungary. The forward scored from the spot in the second half to give his side the lead, but they needed a late goal from Joao Cancelo to get the win.

Hungary took the lead through Barnabás Varga in the 21st minute, before Bernardo Silva equalized for Portugal 15 minutes later. The scores remained level until Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up and scored from a penalty in the 58th minute.

The game looked set for a 2-1 scoreline, but Varga gave the home fans hope of getting a point with a late goal in the 84th minute. However, Joao Cancelo made it two goals in as many games in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers and sealed a 3-2 win in the 86th minute.

Martinez spoke about Ronaldo's performance in the game and said in his post-match interview (via TheNassrZone):

“I don’t just highlight his individual performance, but the fact that Cristiano has scored three goals in two matches with the national team and displays exemplary behavior and sportsmanship, a performance worthy of a team captain.”

Talking about the team's performance, Martinez added (via beIN SPORTS):

"Every game is different, but we found the solutions that I think are important. Hungary have a very good counter-attack, we defended very well in general, we controlled the game. It's a perfect game to improve and adjust aspects. Overall, the focus was incredible. The players who came in helped, they made the difference."

"We showed an incredible personality. When we conceded a goal against Germany [in the Nations League in June], we changed the mentality. Now we can suffer and we believe in what we can do. It happened with Spain too. We have a resilience that is very important to build on in the rest of the game."

Portugal are on top of the group with six points from two matches. They face Ireland next in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers in October.

Cristiano Ronaldo should not start for Portugal, claims pundit

Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brace in the first FIFA World Cup qualifier against Armenia, but ESPN FC pundit Steve Nicol claimed that the forward should not be starting for Portugal. He believes that the Al-Nassr captain relied too much on the physical side of the game and said:

"Absolutely, [I don’t think Ronaldo can do many things he did in the past]. They are two completely different footballers. and Ronaldo as great a finisher he is, relies a lot on the physical side of the game. Messi does not rely as much on the physical side of the game. He does his damage in little tight areas, and little split seconds, picking a pass and putting the ball in the net. Ronaldo should not be starting for Portugal."

Cristiano Ronaldo's goal against Hungary takes him to 943 career goals. He is also equalled the record for most goals in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers, a record that was held by Guatemalan legend Carlos Ruiz with 39 goals.