Portugal head coach Fernando Santos has hinted the he could leave Cristiano Ronaldo out of his starting line-up in the Qatar 2022 World Cup round of 16 clash against Switzerland tonight.
Ronaldo, 37, is the captain of Portugal and has always started whenever he is available, but Santos said there was no guarantee the superstar would be in the XI tonight.
Santos also refused to confirm if Ronaldo, who has struggled in Qatar with just one penalty goal in three matches, would be captain against Switzerland.
“I only decide who is going to be captain when I reach the stadium,” Santos said during his pre-match press conference yesterday.
“I still don’t know what the line-up will be. That’s what I’ve always done and that’s what I’m always going to do and it’s going to be the same tomorrow. The other topic is solved. We have fixed that in-house and that’s it.”
The other topic Santos was referring to was Ronaldo’s attitude to being substituted off during Portugal’s 2-1 defeat against South Korea in their final Group F clash on Friday.
Despite the loss, Portugal still won the group but Ronaldo was seen showing his displeasure at being taken off in the 65th minute.
He put a finger to his lips as he left the field and later said he was provoked by the opposition striker Cho Gue-sung for asking him to speed up his exit. “Before my substitution, one of their players was telling me to leave quickly,” Ronaldo said. “I told him to shut up, he has no authority, he doesn’t have to say anything.”
Asked about Ronaldo’s substitution, Santos said: “Have I seen the images? Yes, I didn’t like it, not at all. I didn’t like it. I really didn’t like it. But from that moment onwards everything is finished regarding that issue.
“These matters are resolved behind closed doors. It’s resolved. Full stop on this matter and now everyone is focused on tomorrow’s match.”
Ronaldo fell out with Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag after refusing to come on as a late substitute in a Premier League match and was suspended for one match.
He then granted an interview to Piers Morgan in which he accused the club of betrayal and Ten Hag of disrespect. This led to the cancellation of his Manchester United contract just before the World Cup.
