Coach Santos: 'Ronaldo's role is being determined'
In the match at Lusail Stadium, Ronaldo suddenly substituted. He was replaced in attack by young Goncalo Ramos, who scored three goals to help Portugal win 6-1, along with other goals from Raphael Guerreiro and substitute Rafael Leao.
In the 73rd minute, when the score was 5-1, Ronaldo was allowed to replace Joao Felix. When asked about the role of the 37-year-old captain and striker today, coach Santos said: "It is still an issue to be determined. I have a very close relationship with Ronaldo. I have known Ronaldo since he was born. He was 19 years old at Sporting Lisbon, and when he was promoted in the national team by the time I arrived in 2014. Ronaldo and I never misunderstood the human and personal aspects of the coach-player relationship. always consider him a very important player to have in the team. He is an example of a true captain."
Regarding the decision to let Ronaldo reserve this match, coach Santos explained that it was purely because of expertise. According to him, in attack, Andre Silva is higher than Ronaldo - a more fixed player in one area, and Goncalo Ramos has the advantage of dynamism and youth. "For each match, I will use whichever player I see fit tactically. All substitutes can be used in the upcoming quarter-final against Morocco, including players who are not. is on the registration list for this match," Santos said.
Ronaldo is going through the most difficult period of his career. From the beginning of the 2022-2023 season at Man Utd, he has often had to be a substitute. As a result, he conducted an interview with MC Piers Morgan to publicly criticize the club and coach Erik ten Hag, leading to the early termination of the contract.
In the last match in the group stage, losing 1-2 to Korea, Ronaldo expressed his frustration on the way to leave the field early. After the game, the 37-year-old striker explained that at the time he was angry with the attitude of a Korean player, but had no problem with the decision to substitute coach Santos.
However, in the press conference before the Switzerland match, coach Santos publicly said that he did not like Ronaldo's attitude at that time, and refused to determine whether he was capable of starting or not.
Regarding the victory over Switzerland, coach Santos said that the Portuguese players played a great game, but advised them to quickly put their feet on the ground. "We have another match in four days, and we have the possibility to play three more," he warned.
In the quarter-finals, Portugal will face Morocco - a team that shocked by beating Spain 3-0 in penalty shootouts, after drawing 0-0 in 120 minutes. Santos refused to predict the outcome of the upcoming match, because he still clearly remembers the difficulties that Portugal faced against Morocco in the 2018 World Cup. In the match in Group B then, Portugal. Nha opened the scoring in the 4th minute thanks to Ronaldo, but in the end only won 1-0.
Before knocking out Spain this year, Morocco had topped Group F in a group that featured Croatia and Belgium.
The winner of the Portugal - Morocco pairing will advance to the semi-finals to meet the winner of the England - France pair. The remaining two quarterfinals are Argentina - Netherlands and Brazil - Croatia.
