On the bench in the World Cup round of 16
Portugal coach demote Cristiano Ronaldo
12/06/2022, 7:42 p.m
Eusebio is just one goal away from the Portuguese World Cup record – but Portugal coach Fernando Santos will not play Cristiano Ronaldo in the round of 16 against Switzerland. The superstar is playing a weak tournament in Qatar and even had to accept public criticism from his own team.
Cristiano Ronaldo sits on the bench in the round of 16 of the World Cup. Portugal’s coach Fernando Santos does not have the superstar in the starting line-up, who currently rarely makes sporting headlines. Instead, Gonçalo Ramos plays against Switzerland (8 p.m. / ARD, MagentaTV and in the live ticker on ntv.de) from the start, for the 21-year-old from Benfica Lisbon it is only the fourth international match. For Ronaldo, on the other hand, the downgrading from regular to joker is tantamount to humiliation.
The reason for this seems to be the poor performance of the 37-year-old – a goal from the penalty spot in the first group game against Ghana, no assist – and the dispute with coach Santos. He had replaced his superstar without a club against South Korea in the final phase after the contract was terminated at Manchester United – Ronaldo reacted insults, to which Santos reacted with public criticism. Even before the line-ups were announced, there was speculation that the offensive player could have to be on the substitute bench at kick-off.
For Ronaldo, in addition to the world title at his presumably last major tournament, personal records are also at stake. He is the first male soccer player to have scored at least one goal in five World Cups, with a total of eight goals so far. The Portuguese record holder is the legendary Eusebio, who scored nine goals in 1966. “It may sound vain, but I don’t follow it,” Ronaldo said before the round of 16.
The 37-year-old is also aiming for the world record in the international appearances category. So far, he has 194 in the statistics, Badr Al-Mutawa’s record is 196. In order to reach this number in Qatar, Ronaldo would not only have to come on as a substitute against Switzerland, but also celebrate a win. In the quarterfinals he would have the chance to set the record.