Cristiano Ronaldo’s days in international football seem to be coming to an end as the Portugal captain was benched for his side’s crucial FIFA World Cup 2022 Round of 16 encounter vs Switzerland, at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar. The former Manchester United attacker was replaced by Benfica frontman Goncalo Ramos as the solitary striker in Fernando Santos’ tactical plans against the Swiss. With many fans not expecting Ramos to impress, considering it was World Cup debut as he hadn’t featured at all during the group stage. But the 21-year-old justified his selection in style, grabbing a hat-trick to help Portugal thrash Switzerland 6-1.
With Ramos stealing his thunder, Ronaldo also had his share of spotlight during the build-up of the match, and it heightened in the second-half, when he was substituted in the 73rd-minute. On Ronaldo’s arrival, Ramos was substituted out by Santos. While Ronaldo waited to enter near the touchline, the crowd’s attention turned towards the 37-year-old and what followed was continuous applause for a few seconds for the former Real Madrid man.
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Here is the video of the Lusail Stadium crowd applauding Cristiano Ronaldo:
Portugal have reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup for just the third time after 2006 and 1996, ending a run of five consecutive knockout games at the tournament without a win (Draw 1, Loss 4). Meanwhile, this was also Portugal’s biggest ever victory in the knockout rounds of the World Cup, and even scoring six goals outside the group stages for the first time.
Meanwhile after the match, Santos defended his decision to bench Ronaldo. Speaking to reporters, he said, “I already explained it (the situation surrounding Ronaldo being dropped), I would not explain it again. They are different players. It was game strategy, all the players are different, I also launched Dalot, Raphael, however Cancelo is also a fabulous player. It was what I thought that we would need for this match against Switzerland.”
“There is no problem between Fernando Santos and the captain of the national team (Ronaldo), we’ve been friends for many years. Players make decisions. Things do not affect us. I already explained, that part was completely resolved and he set a great example of a great captain”, he further added.