Portugal qualified for the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup quarter 2022 by thrashing Switzerland 6-1 in a dorminant display.
Cristiano Ronaldo was benched for the first tim in 18 World Cup matches , Goncalo Ramos given a chance to impress bagged a hat trick for his home country.
Portuguese coach, Fernando Santos was asked if he deliberately left out the five-time Ballon D’or winner on the bench for disciplinary reasons, he answered in the negative stating that it was just for tactical reason
“Cristiano and Ramos are different players. There is no problem with our captain. We’ve been friends for years. We spoke before the game and he had no issue with my decision.” he said.
“Cristiano on the bench? It was purely a strategic choice. The players are different. I also launched Dalot and Guerreiro while Cancelo is fabulous. That’s what I thought to face Switzerland, in another game it’ll be different.”.
Moments after the match Cristiano was seen storming down the tunnel.
