IF THERE was ever a one-man team at the World Cup finals this summer then Portugal are that side.

Without Cristiano Ronaldo, they would be sitting at home reflecting on what could have been a special tournament held in a country millions of Portuguese people have emigrated over to the past decades.

After missing out on automatic qualification by a point, they had to book their ticket to Brazil via he play-offs.

And up stepped Ronaldo to single handedly drag them to the tournament.

Matched up against the notoroious one-man nation Sweden, Ronaldo outshone Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the second-leg.

Ibrahimovic scored a brace but the Real Madrid attacker did one better and scored a hat-trick to send Portugal to Brazil.

The worry for Portugal is that Ronaldo enters the tournament with an injury and only took part in training for the first time on Saturday due to the tendinosis around his left knee and an injury to his right thigh.

And with Germany first-up, they can’t afford to be without their key player.

With their last friendly before the World Cup tomorrow, many expect Ronaldo to feature at some point against the Republic of Ireland tomorrow.

Their previous two friendlies showed how much he is missed.

A goalless draw against Greece at the end of last month was followed by a 1-0 win over Mexico, with that goal coming in the dying second of injury time.

It comes as a surprise to see a country that reached the semi-finals of Euro 2012 be so dependent on one player.

Especially as the rest of the Portugal squad is filled with a number of top-quality players.

Real Madrid defender Pepe may be 31 but is a no-nonense centre-back and will not shy out of any challenge.

William Carvalho has been heavily linked with a move from Sporting Lisbon to Manchester United this summer and can be relied upon to break up play and release others in good positions.

But the two players who will be used to get the best out of Ronaldo are Real Madrid’s Fabio Coentrao and Monaco’s Joao Moutinho.

Coentrao at left-back has built an understanding with Ronaldo and will pose a threat down the left, which allows Ronaldo to roam freely.

As for Moutinho, his eye for the killer pass will be used on countless occasions to release Ronaldo and is often the main provider for most of Portugal’s goals.

It is no surprise to see Ronaldo thrive in this Portugal side. 

Given the license to roam freely in search of goals by manager Paulo Bento, any hope of Portugal doing well over the next month rests on his shoulders.

One concern is that Ronaldo is yet to score at a World Cup but after scoring 51 goals in 47 games for Madrid this season, it is hard to see him not adding to his 49 international goals for Portugal.

Known for loving the football limelight, Brazil 2014 is the perfect opportunity for Ronaldo to show what a superstar he really is.

And he wouldn’t have it any other way.