Portugal beat Switzerland six goals to one, but the man you expect to see on the scoresheet was nowhere to be found. Not only did he not score, but he was not even in the starting Eleven. Follow today’s article to know Why Was Cristiano Ronaldo Benched in Portugal vs Switzerland and why was CR7 watched his teammates from the sideline.
The last time Cristiano Ronaldo was not in a starting lineup for Portugal in a competitive match, Gonzalo Ramos, a young striker who took his place in the recent match against Switzerland, was two years old. Ronaldo had probably signed the Portuguese National Anthem outside of a football pitch the last time back when he was in school.
Quite naturally, this incredibly unnatural phenomenon was photographed by what felt like a million photographers, but it took only seventeen minutes for the world to understand that coach Fernando Santos had made the right choice in the Center Forward position. Because Ramos found the back of the net, he had already scored more knockout-stage goals in the World Cup than Cristiano Ronaldo.
The whole team, including the subs, burst with joy around the corner flag. Despite numerous misleading tweets and comments on social media, Ronaldo was there too. While so many people rushed to lie about how he was upset that the player who replaced him scored, he had rushed to his teammates to celebrate, and it was not going to be the only time, each time, the men in red and green scored and the team became one with all its players, Ronaldo was seen happy and proud, especially when his old pal, Pepe score.
Also Read: Why was Cristiano Ronaldo’s Contract Terminated by Manchester United?
Is Cristiano Ronaldo Holding Portugal Team Back?
Okay, maybe the fact that Ramos completed his hat trick in just over an hour and came into play to give the 21-year-old a standing ovation could have irritated Cristiano Ronaldo. How would we know? In the limited playtime he got, Ronaldo scored a goal, but since it came after multiple occasions he was caught offside, there was nothing to celebrate.
Apart from advancing to the quarter-finals, that is despite the world-deserved team winning an achievement worth celebrating. As the final whistle blew, many people asked the same question, is he the one holding this team back? Has it finally gotten up with Ronaldo? Does this mean the Goat Debate is officially over? These tough-to-answer questions aside, Ronaldo putting on the infamous subs west might have to do with a couple of things.
Why Was Cristiano Ronaldo Benched in Portugal vs Switzerland?
Maybe it was just a tactic, and Swiss was the most dangerous team Portugal faced in the tournament, so a much more direct play style with a much more physical traditional center forward like Ramos made sense. Or, maybe Fernando Santos was mad at Ronaldo when he looked angry and irritated while he was being substituted against South Korea in Portugal’s last match in the group.
The last serving coach told the media that he didn’t like Ronaldo’s attitude, but he also said that his captain was angry against the South Korean people and not him, and there was no bad blood between them or anything. Despite Ronaldo saying the same thing, the number of people not convinced about it was overwhelming.
A poll published in “A Bola” one of Portugal’s daily sports newspapers, had already suggested that 70% of its audience thought they needed to start at the game against Switzerland without Ronaldo. This is almost identical to what Man United fans thought this season.
Portugal will face Morocco in the quarterfinals this weekend, the Atlas Lions are coming through a much harder fourth battle against Spain, and the match already looks so exciting; although the pitch will be filled with many talented players on both sides, we all kind of know who among them will gather all the attention but whether or not, he will be doing so on the bench or on the field will up to code, Santos.
What do you think, Is there a way for Cristiano Ronaldo to take his position back from Gonzalo Ramos? Be sure to let us know in the comment box. Regardless of how the rest of the tournament unfolds, Cristiano Ronaldo is a Portugal legend.
