LUSAIL, Qatar — It’s been a feature of this World Cup so far how old so many of the center forwards are, from Enner Valancia (33) to Robert Lewandowski (34), Olivier Giroud (36) to the new German hero Niclas Füllkrug, who became the second-oldest German outfield debutant (albeit at just 29) when he came on against Spain. There are exceptions, of course, most notably 23-year-old Kylian Mbappé—although he is not really a striker in the old-fashioned sense—but modern academies, perhaps, no longer turn out number nines in bulk.
But no countries perhaps exemplify that trend more than Portugal and Uruguay. For Portugal, the question for some time has been about whether, at 37, Cristiano Ronaldo is worth it. Yes, he brings goals, although only two non-penalty goals in eight games for Portugal this year before Monday. But he is also largely immobile these days, and there is a growing feeling that he slows the game down, to the detriment of Portugal’s fleet of younger attacking players. But Fernando Santos is an old-fashioned manager who has his way of playing that has not much changed since it resulted in a title at Euro 2016. And international football is slower than club football, more likely to be shaped by a moment of individual excellence.
“We clearly showed a very strong unit, both in the quality of the game and in the bond between them,” Santos said, following Monday’s 2–0 win that secured Portugal’s place in the round of 16. “That's how positive things are achieved.”
