World Cup
“It’s time to leave Ronaldo alone.” Portuguese coach spoke about the situation
Portugal coach Fernando Santos said that when Cristiano Ronaldo did not enter the A team in the 2022 World Cup Round of 16 match against Switzerland, he considered the situation normal.
Santos denied reports that the forward was about to leave the national team.
“I think it’s time to leave Cristiano alone. He never said he wanted to leave the national team, so we need to end this discussion.
“I called Ronaldo before the Switzerland game. Of course he wasn’t happy that he wasn’t released in the starting lineup because he had gotten used to being a player in the starting lineup.
“‘Are you sure this is a good idea?’ he asked. We talked normally, I told him why I decided to do this. It was an honest conversation,” Santos said.
Without Ronaldo in the starting lineup, the team defeated Switzerland 6:1. Portugal will face Morocco in the quarter-finals.
Source: Sport UA
I am a writer at Sportish, where I mainly cover sports news. I’ve also written for The Guardian and ESPN Brasil, and my work has been featured on NBC Sports, SI.com and more. Before working in journalism, I was an athlete: I played football for Colgate University and competed in the US Open Cross Country Championships.