Cristiano Ronaldo benched again as Portugal name unchanged starting XI for QF | Football News
Portugal will once again start without Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2022 FIFA World Cup quarter-final match against Morocco on Saturday at the Al Thumama Stadium as manager Fernando Santos named an unchanged XI. Portugal will be aiming to reach the semi-final for the second time in their World Cup history, and first since 2006.
This is the second time Ronaldo has been benched in this World Cup tournament after Goncalo Ramos was picked ahead of him for the Round of 16 match against Switzerland where the later scored the competition’s only ever hat-trick so far in Portugal’s thumping 6-1 win.
After the match, reports circulated that there was a rift between Ronaldo and the team and that the veteran footballer threatened to leave the World Cup campaign midway. Portugal Football squashed the rumours before Santos broke his silence on the matter.
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“Yes we did have a conversation, and it would be very bad if we didn’t have this. Since I took the helm of the national team we need to talk and have a relationship with players, it’s normal, that’s my approach, to have a close relationship,” Santos said, playing down the controversy, during the presser ahead of Morocco match.
“I explained to him that it was better for the strategy that he wouldn’t start, and that it was better for him to play in the second half.
“Cristiano was not happy about it. He has always been a starting player. He asked ‘do you think it’s a good idea?'”
Here is Portugal’s starting XI for quarter-final match against Morocco: Diogo Costa, Dalot, Pepe, Rúben Dias, R. Guerreiro, Rúben Neves, Otávio, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, João Félix, Gonçalo Ramos.
Talking about the match, Portugal will take on Morocco in the first quarter-final match on Saturday with France versus England being the final tie. Argentina and Croatia have already booked their semi-final berth after respective wins via penalties on Friday. The 2018 runners-up stunned Brazil before Argentina beat Netherlands.
