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Portugal depend too much on star forward and captain Cristiano Ronaldo and that could cost them in Saturday's round-of-16 match against Croatia, according to Argentina legend Diego Maradona. Ronaldo, 31, led his team into the knockout phase in France as third-placed finishers in Group F. The Real Madrid forward scored twice in his Tuesday's 3-3 group draw against Hungary -- his first two goals of the tournament -- to give them a third draw in three matches. Next up for Portugal is Croatia, surprise winners of Group D after beating Spain 2-1 in their last match and seen by many as the strongest team on their side of the draw. Former Argentina captain and coach Maradona, writing in a column for the Times of India, thinks Ronaldo will find it hard against Ante Cacic's team and may not see much of the ball when the two sides meet in Lens. "Portugal are too dependent on Ronaldo," the 1986 World Cup winner wrote. "He was brilliant against Hungary, but they are half the force if he doesn't click and the tactically astute Croats will ensure he is low on supply. "He may have to move around for space and chances of Portugal's success hinge on how well he does that. They also have to plug holes in midfield and defence, because these are areas where mistakes may lead to elimination. Croatia start favourites." Maradona went on to heap praise on Ante Cacic's team, who are fairly loaded with top European club stars like Luka Modric, Ivan Rakitic and Ivan Perisic, but wouldn't go so far as to write off Portugal's chances at victory. "The Croats are a feisty lot as they showed against Spain. They drew after going 2-0 up in the previous game [against the Czech Republic] and conceded early against the defending champs. It could have broken them. But the way Croatia came back to win without stars [Luka] Modric and [Mario] Mandzukic was a testament of steel, resolve and ability," Maradona said. "The Croats are tactically sound like most European teams, who give nothing away in defence. The specialty of this bunch seems to be the ability to launch counterattacks at great pace with few touches. "It could be a different experience against Portugal, if Ronaldo's team chooses to play a defensive game and waits to hit on the counter. Croatia have to look to create space in this case and unveil Plan B. With Modric and [Ivan] Rakitic in midfield, expect them to that. "This lot is perhaps low on flair than the one that won World Cup bronze in 1998, but scores high on tactical discipline, team work and determination. Experience tells me these are valuable traits in knockout games." Maradona also weighed on his nation's upcoming Copa America final against Chile on Sunday, saying he believes Lionel Messi and the Albiceleste will emerge victorious, but adding if they don't, they shouldn't come home.
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