Cristiano Ronaldo Won't Save Portugal from Imminent Defeat

No matter how Cristiano Ronaldo performs in the 2012 European Championship, Portugal is destined for failure.

Let's put Portugal's shortcomings aside for a moment and take a look at the big picture. Paulo Bento's team has been unfortunate enough to draw into Group B. Dubbed the "Group of Death," Group B consists of Germany (No. 2 in the world), the Netherlands (No. 4), Denmark (No. 10) and Portugal (No. 5).

Germany is the favorite in the group, as they will be looking for the fourth European Championship in their storied history. Joachim Low's team didn't lose in their 10 qualifying games, dominating all those in their path for the most part.

Portugal's defense isn't good enough to deal with the powerful German attack. Germany has Mesut Ozil, who is one of the best players in the tournament, and you can bet he will be on his game on one of the biggest stages in football. Low also has Thomas Muller and Lukas Podolski up front, who are a lot to deal with on their own, and Ozil's masterful play as of late will only better serve the duo.

Ronaldo is the cog that turns the wheel for Portugal, and his team will need him to make space for himself in order to unleash his long-distance shots that can change the game at any moment.

However, that's going to be a problem against the Germans, as Bastian Schweinsteiger and Per Mertesacker will be patrolling the pitch, doing all they can to neutralize Ronaldo.

Their matchup against the Netherlands is going to pose a problem as well. Ronaldo makes next to no defensive contribution, and the Flying Dutchmen have plenty of firepower. CR7 can try to score all he wants, but that's not going to stop the likes of Robin van Persie, Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben from finding the back of the net when they go on the attack.

On defense, Ronaldo is going to have at least a bit of trouble against Gregory van der Wiel and John Heitinga. Even if he scores, he's going to have to work for his opportunities, and that takes its toll over the course of a 90-minute match.

The Danes won't give Portugal as much trouble as the former two teams, but they won't roll over either. They have a great defense, as evidenced by their six goals allowed in eight qualifying games. That could prove to be the biggest test of all for Ronaldo in terms of scoring goals, as Denmark plays a much more defensive strategy than the other two countries in the group.

The Portuguese shouldn't have a problem winning one against Denmark, but they'll almost certainly need two wins to advance to the knockout stages. With losses coming against Germany and the Netherlands, they won't be able to move on, no matter what Ronaldo does for them.