Portugal manager Fernando Santos says Cristiano Ronaldo was not dropped for the World Cup round of 16 win over Switzerland because of his conduct in a previous match. Goncalo Ramos scored a stunning hat-trick and filled the void left by Cristiano Ronaldo to fire Portugal into the World Cup quarter-finals. Portugal captain Ronaldo was sensationally benched for this last-16 match against Switzerland, with head coach Fernando Santos criticising his conduct after being subbed in a match with South Korea last week. Ramos was picked to start ahead of Ronaldo here in Doha and the 21-year-old scored a brilliant treble on his full international debut as they won 6-1.

When it comes to Portugal, you can always expect the discussion to be centered around Cristiano Ronaldo in the leadup for an important fixture. But following the thumping victory over Switzerland in the Round of 16, it was the superstar’s replacement who stole the limelight. Coach Fernando Santos made the courageous call by dropping CR7 from the starting lineup and replacing him with Gonzalo Ramos. But the young man’s exploits even exceeded his manager’s expectations.

 

Post-match, Santos was asked why exactly he benched Ronaldo and the manager firmly denied that it was over the South Korea incident. ‘Cristiano and Ramos are different players. There is no problem with the captain of the national team,’ he said. ‘It was strategic. Players are different. I also started [Diogo] Dalot, Raphael [Guerreiro], however [Joao] Cancelo is a fabulous player. ‘That’s what I thought for the game against Switzerland, in another game it might be different. ‘There is no problem between Fernando Santos and the captain of the national team. We’ve been friends for many years and things don’t affect us. ‘Coaches make decisions. I already explained, that part was completely resolved and he set an example of a great captain.’