Portugal faced off with Switzerland in the quarter-final of the 2022 World Cup on Tuesday evening.
Portugal headed into the tie as favourites, though Switzerland were likely hoping to take inspiration from Euro 2020 when they knocked France out in the knockout rounds.
Ahead of the game, it was revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo had been dropped to the bench, meaning he is not starting at a major tournament for the first time since 2008.
Ronaldo’s benching comes after Portugal manager Fernando Santos was unhappy with CR7 after his spat with a South Korean player last week:
“Right after the match, I spoke in the flash interview, and then went to the press conference, and there I said something I’ll repeat here: on the pitch, I didn’t hear anything,” Santos said in a press conference.
“I was too far, and this is why I only saw him arguing with a South Korean player, and nothing else. “Have I already watched the footage? Yes. I didn’t like it. Didn’t like it at all. From there, it’s things you sort out internally. It was sorted out this way, and now we think about the game tomorrow. Everyone is focused on the game.”
The 21-year-old is making his 4th appearance for Portugal, with his last two outings totalling just 10 minutes at the World Cup.
However, he scored Portugal’s opener and now has more World Cup knockout goals than Ronaldo (0).
Goncalo Ramos has scored more goals in the knockout stages of World Cups than Cristiano Ronaldo.
— Richard Jolly 🇺🇦 (@RichJolly) December 6, 2022
