Cristiano Ronaldo was dramatically dropped for Portugal’s round of 16 tie against Switzerland at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
This was due to his reaction to being substituted in the final group game against South Korea and amid suspicions that Portugal are a better team without him.
It meant Portugal played in a tournament knockout game without Ronaldo in the starting line-up for the first time since the semi-finals of Euro 2000.
And this was even more evident from the last game, Portugal didn’t appear to miss him they hammered Switzerland 6-1 with his replacement in the team, 21-year-old Goncalo Ramos, scoring a hat-trick.
The Athletic takes a look at why Ronaldo was dropped and what sort of involvement he could have in the rest of the tournament.
What happened against South Korea?
A disgruntled Ronaldo was substituted in the 65th minute of Portugal’s final group game against South Korea.
He put his finger to his lips and made the universal gesture for “be quiet”.
He later claimed that he was responding to Korea’s Cho Gue-sung telling him to hurry up and get off the pitch, but whatever the reason, it’s not the first time the 37-year-old has reacted furiously to being brought off mid-game.
What was Portugal manager Fernando Santos’ reaction?
Portugal’s boss Fernando Santos, speaking about the incident ahead of the clash against Switzerland, said: “Have I seen the images? Yes, I didn’t like it, not at all. I didn’t like it. I really didn’t like it. But from that moment onwards everything is finished regarding that issue. These matters are resolved behind closed doors. It’s resolved.
“Full stop on this matter and now everyone is focused on tomorrow’s match.”
Santos would not say whether Ronaldo would captain Portugal for the rest of the competition, saying: “I only decide who is going to be captain when I reach the stadium. I still don’t know what the line-up will be. That’s what I’ve always done and that’s what I’m always going to do and it’s going to be the same tomorrow. The other topic is solved. We have fixed that in-house and that’s it.”
Was Ronaldo being named on the bench a surprise?
In a purely footballing sense, no. Ronaldo is clearly past his best and his refusal to properly press has hugely negative consequences for Portugal. He is still a superb finisher, but at this stage it is largely accepted that his overall impact on Portugal is a negative one.
But of course, he is Ronaldo — one of the best players ever and the top scorer in the history of international football.
On top of this, he is a global superstar with an unrivaled commercial pulling power. So, it was still a massive call.
