Will Cristiano Ronaldo continue to ‘eat the bench’ or will he start in Portugal vs. Morocco for the 2022 World Cup?

Fernando Santos finally crossed the red line and Cristiano Ronaldo stayed on the bench. The result was final, 6-1 against Switzerland and a hat-trick for his substitute Gonçalo Ramos. Will he sit him down again in the quarterfinals against Morocco? He evidently did not respond to the question this Friday at a press conference.

In front of journalists from all over the world, the coach wanted to settle the controversy with a long response.

“There was a conversation, it would have been negative not to have it. He is the captain, the representative of Portuguese football. He had to talk to her. I explained to him the reasons why he was staying on the bench,” Santos said.

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Appeal from the bench

“I told him that against Switzerland I preferred to keep him on the bench for the second half because it would be a very tough duel. I was not happy about the decision, he told me, but it was a normal conversation, ”he added.

The 68-year-old coach intended with this exercise in transparency, which included details such as “the conversation was in my office the day of the game after lunch”, to put an end to the controversy.

ESPN FC prepared a series of data that can become historical in the 2022 World Cup

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtOD1f2L3ys

After not playing, on Wednesday CR7 did not train on the field, as the rest of the substitutes did, and on Thursday the Portuguese federation and the player himself through Instagram denied the press reports that he had threatened to leave the concentration.

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Then he jumped onto the pitch smiling and lined up with the substitutes in a little game.

“He never told me that he wanted to leave, we have to end the controversies,” Santos added this Friday, inviting journalists to review the images of his impeccable attitude in the match against Switzerland.

“He wanted to warm up with the rest despite being a substitute, he celebrated the goals and invited his teammates to celebrate with the fans. You have to leave him alone!”, He added.

Regarding his title on Saturday against Morocco, he did not reveal his plans: “Winning and not changing anything is not mandatory. Morocco is very different from Switzerland. It will be a different match.”

A new world

Against the Swiss team, Ronaldo only played the last 15 minutes. He jumped into the field when all the fish was already sold, with 5-1, when only Rafael Leao, another illustrious man destined to the bench in this World Cup, remained to score.

Ronaldo, with five World Cups played and a scorer in all editions -the only player in history-, had not started a game in the great competition since he started on the bench in the group stage against Mexico in Germany-2006.

In this edition he started in all three of the group stage, including the 2-1 defeat against South Korea despite the fact that the team was already qualified. In that duel he complained about being substituted, perhaps the fuse that ignited his substitution in the round of 16.

Consummated the ‘sacrilege’ of leaving the man with 195 international matches on the bench -if he plays against Morocco he will be the footballer with the most caps, equaling Kuwaiti Bader al-Mutawa- and the 118 goals -an absolute record-, Portugal discovered a the new World.

With Ronaldo as their flag, Portugal won its first international titles, Euro 2016 and the 2019 League of Nations, but the dependence on a player who will turn 38 in February seems to have stifled his team in recent times.

Often criticized for his conservative approaches when he has a list of top-level attackers, Santos took a load off his group with the substitution of the legend. And his footballers responded with the best game they can remember.

Joao Felix, starter in the Portuguese attack in Qatar, preceded Santos this Friday at a press conference and showed less solemnity than his coach when asked about his captain.

“Whether he is on the field or not does not change our tactics. He has qualities that other players don’t have and vice versa. We have our identity and we are concentrating on that, ”he cleared, visibly tired by the single issue of the Portuguese team. (D)