Fernando Santos talks about benching Ronaldo."It’s the million-dollar question" - Fernando Santos explains why Cristiano Ronaldo was benched for Portugal's 1-1 draw v Spain
Portugal manager Fernando Santos has defended his decision to bench Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench against Spain in the UEFA Nations League on Thursday, 2 June. The 37-year-old forward was introduced by his manager in the 62nd minute but failed to make a goal contribution.The Euro 2016 winners grabbed a late 1-1 draw after Ricardo Horta equalized in the 82nd minute after Alvaro Morata gave Spain the lead in the first half of their game in Seville.
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Ronaldo started the game on the bench with Santos preferring an attacking trio of Rafael Leao, Andre Silva and Otavio. When asked why he did not start with the Manchester United forward, Santos simply called it a tactical decision.Fernando Santos believes that Ronaldo would have a more significant impact coming off the bench. Speaking after their 1-1 draw against Spain, the Portugal manager was quoted as saying the following (via the Indian Express):
“Cristiano Ronaldo? They often ask why he is a starter. It’s the million-dollar question. I understood that for this game it was better to use the players I used. It was a technical and tactical option for this game. It seemed to us the best solution. For the way we wanted to play and approach the game. It has nothing to do with Cristiano’s quality, that’s not even in question."
He added:
"There are moments in the game when you have to think in a different way. We believed that in the second half he could come in and solve the game.”
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Cristiano Ronaldo had a great personal season with Manchester United. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner scored 24 goals and provided three assists in 38 games for the Red Devils across all competitions.
Portugal will rely on Cristiano Ronaldo for World Cup glory later this year
Despite being 37 years old, Cristiano Ronaldo will carry the weight of exceptions from an entire nation during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. The tournament in the Middle East could be Ronaldo's final opportunity to lift international football's biggest tournament.It is worth mentioning that the 2022 FIFA World Cup will be Cristiano Ronaldo's fifth consecutive World Cup appearance for Portugal. The closest he came to winning the tournament was back in 2006 when Portugal finished fourth after losing the semi-finals to France.
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