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Portugal coach Fernando Santos said he “really didn’t like” Cristiano Ronaldo’s reaction to being substituted in the World Cup loss to South Korea.
Ronaldo was sent off after 65 minutes last defeat in the group stage and has denied directing an outburst at his coach.
Santos refused to comment on reports Ronaldo could drop ahead of Tuesday’s round of 16 game against Switzerland.
“I’m not concerned about information being right or wrong,” Santos said.
“I don’t read that kind of information. I focus on my team. We focus on training and don’t pay attention to surveys [in the Portuguese media].
“Yeah, I didn’t like it, not at all [Ronaldo’s outburst]. I really didn’t like it and from that moment on this problem [it] is finished.”
Much of Monday’s Portugal press conference was dominated by talk of the 37-year-old striker. who left Manchester United by mutual consent in November after a controversial interview.
Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr has already done so made a huge offer Signing Ronaldo after the Qatar tournament while a number of other clubs have expressed interest in him.
“I haven’t spoken to him about it,” added Santos.
“I do not know anything about that. It is his decision. I didn’t even know about it and I heard about it when I got here.
“We’re concentrating on the World Cup. I don’t know about that other issue.”
CHRIS SUTTON’S PREDICTIONS
Switzerland were very passive against Brazil and didn’t manage to get a shot on target, but their other games in Qatar give us a better idea of what to expect here.
Portugal have some excellent players but the Swiss will be full of confidence after beating Serbia and making it into the last 16. They also beat Portugal when they played them in the Nations League in June.
It’s going to be close and I have a feeling Cristiano Ronaldo will play a big part in the outcome – albeit not necessarily in a positive way.
It’s a risk versus reward scenario for Portugal if they choose Ronaldo because his influence on the team is huge, but they could have a better starter who should be in the squad.
If this draw goes the distance, how long should he stay on the pitch?
Sutton’s prediction: 1-1 – Switzerland win after extra time on penalties – Ronaldo misses the winning penalty.
MATCH FACTS
- This is the third meeting between Portugal and Switzerland in 2022 after they met twice in the Nations League in June. Portugal won a game 4-0 in Lisbon before Switzerland won 1-0 in Geneva a week later.
- Portugal will be looking to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup for only the third time, having already done so in 1966 and 2006. However, they have failed to win any of their last five knockout games at the tournament and have lost in each of the last four, including defeats at this stage in 2010 (0-1 v Spain) and 2018 (1-2 v Uruguay).
- Switzerland have won two of their group stage matches at the 2022 World Cup (L1 vs. Brazil) and are looking to win three games in a single World Cup tournament for the first time in their history.
- All of Cristiano Ronaldo’s eight World Cup goals came in the group stage of the competition, the most goals scored by a player in the history of the tournament without ever scoring in the knockout stages (alongside Lionel Messi). Ronaldo has yet to score in any of his six knockout games for Portugal at the World Cup, despite playing 514 minutes and 25 shots on target.
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