AL DAAYEN, Qatar — Portugal supervisor Fernando Santos has stated Cristiano Ronaldo is not going to begin for his nation in its spherical of 16 matchup towards Switzerland on Tuesday.
Ronaldo has been Portugal’s nationwide group captain for greater than a decade and 21-year-old Gonçalo Ramos will begin in his place.
Santos made the choice after a tense press convention by which he stated he didn’t respect the famous person’s response to being substituted within the 65th minute of the ultimate group match loss to South Korea.
“I didn’t like it, not at all,” Santos stated Monday. “I really didn’t like it. We dealt with this internally. From that moment onwards, everything is finished — full-stop on that issue. It is solved, we fixed it, and that’s it.”
Nonetheless, Santos wouldn’t verify if Ronaldo would stay captain or begin towards Switzerland. He stated, “I will only decide who is going to be the captain when I reach the stadium. I don’t know the lineup. That’s what I always do. What I have always done is focus on the immediate match. I am not worried if one report is right or wrong.”
Santos on Tuesday made the decision and Ronaldo begins the knockout spherical on the bench.
The 37-year-old Portuguese striker has been the focus since earlier than the World Cup began, from leaving Manchester United to studies that he could signal with Saudi Arabian membership Al Nassr for a wage value greater than $200 million per 12 months.
After scoring in a penalty kick in Portugal’s first sport towards Ghana, making him the primary male footballer to attain in 5 World Cups, Ronaldo has but to attain once more.
