Portugal manager Fernandos Santos admitted he wasn’t happy with captain Cristiano Ronaldo’s reaction at coming off against South Korea.
Ronaldo subbed early against South KoreaPlayer reacted badly to decisionSantos expressed displeasure in his reaction
WHAT HAPPENED? Having made little impact for the best part on an hour, Ronaldo was one of three changes as his side went chasing a winner in a game they eventually lost 2-1. The veteran forward appeared to react badly to being substituted – with Santos revealing his spat with South Korea’s Lee Sung-Jae upon coming off – an incident which the Portugal boss has since shown his displeasure towards.
WHAT THEY SAID: “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 BIGGER PICTURE: Despite losing that game, Portugal were still able to qualify as Group H winners, leaving them a last-16 encounter against Switzerland on Tuesday. While Santos stressed the team’s focus on the match, the headlines are likely to remain on their skipper, after it was reported that he will be completing a blockbuster move to Saudi Arabia after the conclusion of the World Cup.
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DID YOU KNOW? Ronaldo has failed to score with any of his 25 shots in the knockout stage at the World Cup, only Roberto Carlos (29) attempted more shots without scoring in the knockout stage in the tournament since at least 1966.
WHAT NEXT FOR PORTUGAL? Santos’ side take on Switzerland on Tuesday with a place in the quarter-final up for grabs, where they will go on to face the winners of Morocco against Spain on the same day.
