Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes has admitted that he "would be angry" if he had been named on the bench, as he defended Cristiano Ronaldo following the 37-year-old's omission from Portugal's starting XI that beat Switzerland on Tuesday night.
Fernando Santos made the shock decision to drop Ronaldo and hand Goncalo Ramos, the 21-year-old Benfica striker, his first international start. Ramos scored the first hat-trick of the World Cup - ultimately vindicating Santos' decision.
Ronaldo was eventually introduced in the 73rd minute after audible chants of the veteran's name rang around the Lusail Stadium. The former United man did have the ball in the back of the net shortly after coming on, but his strike was quickly ruled out for offside.
