Cristiano Ronaldo was spotted watching on in frustration as Portugal went 1-0 down against Morocco in their World Cup quarter-final.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner was again left out of the starting line-up by Fernando Santos after they beat Switzerland 6-1 in his absence in the last-16. However, things did not turn out as straightforward against a determined Morocco side as Portugal went behind shortly before the break.
Goalkeeper Diogo Costa was left in no-mans-land looking to claim a cross leaving Youssef En-Nesyri to head the ball into an empty net. It was a moment which left Portugal staring at World Cup relegation and Ronaldo was forced to watch on as a worried spectator.
Predictably, the cameras panned to the former Manchester United man - currently a free agent after his dramatic exit from Old Trafford earlier this month. They captured him taking in a sharp intake of breath and looking stunned and what he had just seen.
En-Nesyri was compared to Ronaldo for his leap to reach the ball and head Morocco into the lead. Speaking on co-commentary on ITV, Ally McCoist said: "He's up, what a leap it is, excellent, it really is. Almost, dare I say it, Ronaldo-esque how high he gets up. Diogo Costa will not want to see that again but credit where it's due."
Portugal boss Fernando Santos discussed his decision to drop Ronaldo against Switzerland ahead of the game before opting to take the same approach against Morocco. He detailed their frank conversation before giving the nod to Goncalo Ramos, who duly scored a hat-trick in the last-16.
“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."
