Cristiano Ronaldo will once again start from the bench as Portugal take on Morocco for a place in the World Cup semi-finals.
Veteran striker Ronaldo was dropped by manager Fernando Santos after his behaviour in the group stage defeat to South Korea didn't go down well with the boss. Goncalo Ramos was given the nod against Switzerland in the round of 16, and scored his first senior international hat-trick in a 6-1 victory.
Ronaldo and Santos held talks during the week as Portugal prepared to face Morocco at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha. The upshot is more of the same for Ronaldo, who will begin his search for a new club after the tournament having left Manchester United in November.
“Yes we did have a conversation. It would have been bad if we had not had this conversation," Santos said, explaining the decision he made ahead of the Switzerland game. The manager, who led Portugal to Euro 2016 glory, also played down suggestions Ronaldo threatened to quit the camp.
“Since I took the helm of the national team we needed to have a closer relationship with the players," he explained. "That’s my approach, to have a close relationship with them.
“So, that conversation needed to happen. I don’t do that with all the players. But he’s the captain of our squad. What he represents for Portuguese football, the people and its national team, I naturally needed to talk to him.
“I talked to him after lunch on the match day ahead of the Switzerland game. I did not have any conversation before that. It was the only conversation I had with him on that day and I explained to him why he would not be playing. I explained why he wouldn’t be started. I did it so he wouldn’t be surprised."
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“Cristiano was not very happy about it," Santos admitted. "He has always been one of the starting players. He wasn’t happy about it. He said: ‘Do you really think it’s a good idea?’ We had a conversation which explained my viewpoints.
“He never told me he wanted to leave. So, it’s high time we stopped with the polemics of this conversation. An example of what I just said is what he did at the match. He warmed up with the players. Even if he knew he wasn’t going to play.
“He celebrated all the goals we scored. At the end, he was the one who invited his colleagues to think the fans. It’s time to leave Ronaldo alone in acknowledgement of what he has done for Portuguese football.”
Ronaldo did make it onto the pitch after being told Santos would save him for the second half against Switzerland. He was given around 20 minutes in the round 16, and will want to make a real impact if he is given a similar cameo in the quarter-final.
