One of the finest footballers in the history of the game, Cristiano Ronaldo couldn’t find himself a spot in the Portugal starting XI as his side squared-off against Switzerland in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 match on Tuesday. While Portugal manager Fernando Santos’ decision left many fans stunned, the move eventually paid off as Ronaldo’s replacement Goncalo Ramos scored a hat-trick in the team’s 6-1 win. Despite Ramos’ undeniable impact, there were many Ronaldo supporters who weren’t entirely happy with the Portugal manager for his decision, and this included Ronaldo’s partner Georgina Rodriguez.
Ronaldo, the 5-time Ballon d’Or winner, hasn’t been in the best of form in this tournament. Other than a penalty against Ghana, the forward hasn’t been able to leave a mark while leading the line for Portugal in the World Cup. Having featured in all of Portugal’s group-stage matches, Ronaldo was left out of the starting XI in the Round of 16 clash.
The match against Switzerland turned out to be Portugal’s highest-scoring game, with 4 different players finding the net, including a hat-trick by Ramos.
In a post on Instagram after the match, Georgina Rodriguez expressed her unhappiness at Santos’ decision.
“Congratulations Portugal. While the 11 players sang the anthem, all eyes were on you. What a shame not to have been able to enjoy the best player in the world for 90 minutes. The fans did not stop asking for you and shouting your name. May God and your dear friend Fernando continue hand in hand and make us vibrate one more night,” she wrote.
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The Portugal manager, Fernando Santos, explained his decision to bench Ronaldo in favour of Ramos after the game.
“Cristiano and Ramos are different players. There is no problem with the captain of the national team,” Santos said.
“It was strategic. Players are different. I also started Diogo Dalot, Raphael Guerrero; however, Joao Cancelo is a fabulous player. That’s what I thought for the game against Switzerland; in another game, it might be different,” Santos added.
Considering how well Ramos played against Switzerland, it doesn’t look like Ronaldo will be in the starting XI for Portugal against Morocco in the quarter-finals.
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