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Fans have reacted to Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal potentially getting an 'easy' group at UEFA Euro 2024 in Germany next summer.
Following the draw for next year's European Championships in Hamburg on Saturday (December 2), the six groups were decided pending the three playoff winners.
Portugal, the 2016 champions, have been drawn with Turkey, Czech Republic and a playoff C winner - one of Luxembourg, Kazakhstan, Greece and Georgia. Except for Greece (2004 champions) and Czech Republic (1996 final), none of the other teams have reached the final.
That makes it one of the easier groups for A Selecao, who are looking to add to their 2016 title, in what could be their talismanic captain Ronaldo's European Championship swansong.
Fans, though, have cried foul, with some suspecting a 'rigged' draw for Ronaldo. One tweeted:
"This group is already rigged for Ronaldo and Portugal. What is this group?"
Another chimed in:
"Ronaldo has the easiest group of all time. Lmao"
Here are some of the top reactions on X:
Portugal had a marvellous qualifying campaign, winning all 10 games, conceding twice and scoring 36.
How Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo fared in UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying?
Cristiano Ronaldo is widely regarded as one of the best players of all time. Even at 38, he's showing little signs of slowing down, as he continues to age like fine wine.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner led Portugal from the front in their dazzling qualifying campaign, bagging 10 goals and two assists in nine games. That included braces against Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Slovakia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
He's now set to appear in a record-extending sixth European Championship next summer. For context, no other player has appeared in more than four. Ronaldo is the all-time top scorer in European Championship history, with 14 goals in 25 games.
Not surprisingly, the 38-year-old is also the all-time top-scorer in Euro qualifying history, with 41 goals in 44 games.
