Manager Fernando Santos of Portugal chose to bench Cristiano Ronaldo.
After Portugal’s 6-1 victory over Switzerland, Cristiano Ronaldo immediately left the field for the tunnel after the final whistle.
On Tuesday, Portugal defeated Switzerland 6-1 to advance to the quarterfinals. He came off the bench. In the victory, the 21-year-old replacement for Ronaldo scored a hat trick, certain to raise concerns regarding Ronaldo’s future with the national team.
At the conclusion of the game, Ronaldo congratulated Gonçalo Ramos at midfield, then walked over to the Portugal section of fans and briefly clapped in their direction.
Ronaldo, on the other hand, left his teammates behind and walked by himself through the tunnel while the rest of the team had their chance to show their appreciation to the fans.
With a huge grin on his face, Ronaldo breezed through the post-match interview area, only responding to one question: Was he content?
The superstar said, “Of course, of course,” grinning. Portugal won!
The day before removing Ronaldo from the starting lineup, Fernando Santos voiced his displeasure with his 37-year-old star.
Santos claimed that the move was tactical and not disciplinary, but he had admitted on Monday that he was bothered by Ronaldo’s bad attitude after pulling him out of the game against South Korea, which ended in a 2-1 loss.
“I think those issues have been addressed. I repeat what I said in my most recent press conference: Santos declared, “This is finished and resolved.” Ronaldo and I have a very close relationship. Since he was 19 years old in Sporting, I have known him.