Ronaldo and Lukaku are fighting for a place in the quarter-finals of the EURO.
Sevilla In the virtual world, this duel goes to Cristiano Ronaldo – and by far. 300 million fans have been following the Portuguese superstar on Instagram for a few days, and the newly crowned world record holder was the first person ever to break this brand on the platform. Romelu Lukaku can only be amazed: The exceptional Belgian talent has “only” seven million followers.
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300 million fans
The really relevant showdown of the Serie A strikers will take place on Sunday (9 p.m.) in Seville. The European Championship round of 16 between Belgium and Portugal is eagerly awaited in the heat of Andalusia: Will defending champion Portugal with record man Ronaldo keep his chance at the double or will Belgium with brawny attacker Lukaku underpin its status as an eternal secret favorite?
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Ronaldo is certain of great support. “300 million. What a fantastic number! Thanks for your support, always, ”wrote the 36-year-old, remembering many of his earlier ostings. Among them, for example: Pictures from the summer of 2016, when Ronaldo became EM champion with Portugal.
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Five years later, the next high hurdle awaits the Iberians on the way to successfully defending their title. It should depend on Ronaldo again, who has scored five of the seven Portuguese tournament goals so far. With three goals, Lukaku is one of Ronaldo’s first pursuers in the European Championship goalscoring list. The Diario de Sevilla described the duo these days as “infallible killers”.
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“Cristiano is in the shape of his life. But we mustn’t underestimate the rest of the team. We respect, but not fear, ”said Lukaku’s team-mate Toby Alderweireld on Thursday. You can’t stop a Ronaldo “alone. He’s one of the best players in the world ”.
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Many claim: he is the best. With the next goal in the national jersey, the 110th, Ronaldo would own the previously shared world record with Iranian Ali Daei alone. The Juve star has been the lonely leader of the all-time European championship goalscorer list since the opening game against the Hungarians, now he has 14 goals in five participations.
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But he wants more – just like Belgium. The Red Devils and their “golden generation” want to finally hold something in their hands after the tournament performances of the past few years and trust in Lukaku: “For me Romelu has become a completely different player in the last ten months”, praised the Belgian coach Roberto Martinez.
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The master maker
For the last ten months, Lukaku has been a feared recycler wearing the Inter Milan jersey. With 24 goals he scored the Nerazzurri to the championship title, so the fourth-placed record champions Juventus Turin did not help 29 goals from top scorer Ronaldo.
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Incidentally, Lukaku politely warned Lukaku shortly after his move from Manchester United to Italy. “He told me that this is the league with the toughest defense in the world. He said that he has scored goals everywhere, but this is the hardest place to do it, ”Lukaku said of a meeting in October 2019.
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Both strikers showed at this EM: They can assert themselves quite well. But only one makes it to the quarter-finals.
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“Cristiano is in the shape of his life. We respect Portugal, but we are not afraid. “
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