CR7: The Elephant in the Room Remains

The face of a winner never looks like the face of a loser. That is just one of many footballing idioms—richer than we often give them credit for—learned the moment you step into this world. Other examples can wait for another time.

Jorge Jesus is entirely right when he says that only winning sustains the momentum of a manager and his team.

Fortunately for Jesus, and above all for Portugal, the national team delivered a commanding display in Denmark and is well on course for the Nations League quarter-finals—a tournament they have already won twice under the unloved Fernando Santos and Roberto Martínez.

Roughly 24 hours after the greatest icon in Portuguese football history walked out of the national team camp, an impressive performance and three points seemed enough to turn it into a mere footnote. It isn't, and it won't be. What goes out must come back in; anyone who understands the sea knows how the tide works.

It is relatively easy to limit questions in press conferences, especially when everything unfolds live with little room for off-topic detours. Even so, Jesus was eager to answer a tactical question that went beyond the set agenda and, had he not been cut off, would have addressed a second—incidentally the most intriguing one, regarding the work of art that was the fourth goal.

It is understandable that for Jesus and the Portuguese Football Federation, the matches themselves—yesterday's and Sunday's—take priority. In the end, results drive everything.

Yet the Portuguese public knows what really matters right now. And it certainly isn't the team's tactical execution.

Naturally, three wins from three games is a welcome return, and reaching the business end of the Nations League will be celebrated if secured. But we all need explanations for Cristiano Ronaldo's departure from the camp, and what appears to be a definitive farewell to the national team from—let it be repeated—the greatest and most influential figure in Portugal's history. Yes, Portugal as a whole, and that was deliberate.

A 4-2 victory in Denmark is nothing to scoff at, and the performance was assured and solid enough to put sporting concerns to rest.

Let us not pretend, however, that the elephant has left the room. Yesterday's victory is not why the national team has captured the public's attention in recent days. It may be unfortunate, but that is the reality.