Cristiano Ronaldo was not comfortable in the centre forward position, insists Bento

Seleccao boss Paulo Bento

Portuguese coach Paulo Bento reveals Ronaldo's discomfort in the striker position and says it was not in his plans to shoehorn the 29-year old up front.

The 2013 world player of the year, Ronaldo's performances were gravely hampered by the niggling knee injury which kept him from his fierceful best and was thereby in no condition to deputize for injured strikers, Hugo Almeida and Helder Postiga. "I never thought of Ronaldo as the spearhead;it was not on my mind to put Ronaldo as the only centre forward at the beginning of the tournament," insisted Bento.

"I think it's not the best for his goal tally and for the team. We talked about it, ofcourse. He did not seem to feel comfortable in that position, but it was not necessary for him to tell me that.", he added.

Portugal endured a torrid campaign which saw them bow out in the group phase and an injury ridden Ronaldo failed to make an impact on his team. About his fitness, coach Bento stated, "We he reached the training camp he was not 100 percent but he was able to train and play. He played with great effort and sacrifice, he was medically fit and would not have played otherwise."

The 4-0 drubbing in the hands of the Germans proved too heavy for the Seleccao and were eliminated by an inferior goal difference to USA.