Cristiano Ronaldo has 'made people fall in love with football' but Scotland star aims to have last laugh vs Portugal


Cristiano Ronaldo may have helped the current generation of kids to fall in love with football - but Che Adams hopes Scotland will have the last laugh at Hampden tomorrow night.
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid phenomenon - who plays his club football for Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League - is still going strong for Portugal at the age of 39. He netted his 901st career goal against Steve Clarke’s side when the two nations faced off in Lisbon last month.
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Hide AdAnd he extended his outrageous scoring streak at international level when he converted his 133rd strike for his country in Saturday’s 3-1 Nations League win over Poland.


But Torino hitman Adams reckons it’s time the Scots “put things right” amid a nightmare run of form that has seen Clarke’s wounded side win just once in their last 15 games.
Asked about the prospect of facing the five-time Balon d’Or winner, Adams said: “Amazing player, amazing career. I think he's made a lot of people fall in love with the game of football. He's a lot of idol to the kids growing up now. He's an amazing player, but tomorrow is going to be a bit different for us. We're going to have to stop him and put him out of his track. We're looking forward to coming up against him, stopping him and putting our stamp on the game.
“Everyone in the nation wants us to play against the best and go toe-to-toe with them. Tomorrow is going to be no exception. Everyone's going to be up for it. The crowd are going to be up for it. As long as we start fast and we start quick, we'll be in for a good night.
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Hide Ad“I think that's what we've been focusing on in the past two days, ever since the Croatia game. We know how good of a nation they (Portugal) are and how many amazing stars they've got, but it's down to us and what we do on the pitch. We've definitely got the team to hurt them and shake them about. That's what we proved against Croatia, against another top nation as well.
“In football, results are the only thing that matter. I think we've got a good enough group now to acknowledge when things are going bad and to put a positive spin on things. So, the dressing room has been OK. We're just looking forward to now to putting things right tomorrow.
“We're just excited about this game. We're working on things day in and day out to produce positive results. I think the games have been really positive. We've not got the rub of green, in some cases, like my one yard offside the other day. Things like that, small margins, just impact your whole mentality a lot. So tomorrow is another chance to come up against one of the best nations in the world, some would say, so we're looking forward to that.”
Adams moved to Italy earlier this summer, having spent the vast majority of his career playing at a high level in England with Sheffield United, Birmingham City and most recently Southampton. He signed a three-year deal with the Serie A outfit and has scored four goals in his last seven matches.
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Hide AdAsked how much his move to one of Europe’ top leagues can help on the international scene, Adams replied: “It just opens up your mind to experiencing different levels and different competitions. I think that can help the nation because we've got a few boys now that are playing abroad. We're coming together and bringing different ideas and different styles of play. Things like that.
“I think it's a huge bonus to the nation. What I've learned from moving abroad is it just makes you grow as a person as well, in terms of off the pitch. Taking that challenge and being uncomfortable. I think that will only help you in life and in football.”
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