Dalot hits back at Portugal critics, defends Ronaldo

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Florida, June 20 (Reuters) – Portugal defender Diogo Dalot delivered a defiant riposte to ‌critics on Saturday, claiming there were people actively rooting against his country’s World Cup campaign following their stuttering start in Group K.

Dalot’s comments came after what he described as a few hard days following Portugal’s disappointing 1-1 draw with Democratic Republic of Congo.

The result ​unleashed a torrent of online criticism and abuse ahead of their clash with Uzbekistan on ​Tuesday.

“The criticism will come but the message we have is that millions of people ⁠want Portugal to win and there are those who don’t want Portugal to win,” Dalot told reporters.

“I’ve ​been in football for a while to know that criticism is part of the process and we can’t ​run from it. But there is constructive criticism also.

“Our message is clear: we’re cohesive as a group, we’re strong and we’re ready to do everything to win.”

When pressed to identify his targets, the 27-year-old remained coy.

“I can’t say one or two ​people, but there are people who don’t want Portugal to win,” he added. “My job is to go ​out there, play and send a message that the group is strong and united despite the result. The team wants ‌to ⁠do better.”

Dalot also leapt to the defence of Cristiano Ronaldo, who has faced particular scrutiny after an underwhelming start to his sixth World Cup.

“Everybody is aware of Cristiano’s ability to deal with criticism. With what people have been sharing, the criticism is part of his environment,” Dalot said.

“Pressure is a ​part of a competition at ​this level. Our opinion ⁠of him hasn’t changed, he will always be ready to help and represent his nation.”

Dalot also revealed that the players were deliberately shielding themselves from the ​backlash on social media.

“Without revealing too much of what we say in private ​conversations, before the ⁠World Cup we had a conversation about social media and criticism,” he said.

“When you have a team like this, especially with Cristiano in your team, we need to learn to deal with criticism that is not normal… ⁠That’s ​why the team was cut off from criticism on social media.

“The ​positive aspect we see is that it happened early (in the tournament). The earlier the setbacks, the easier it is for us to ​kill that theme and move on.”