JAKARTA - The Portugal national team failed to advance to the semifinals of the Qatar 2022 World Cup. Seleccao das Quinas was painfully eliminated after losing 0-1 to Morocco in the last eight.
Not a few have accused this failure of being the responsibility of the coach, Fernando Santos. One of them is Portuguese football legend, Luis Figo.
He firmly stated that Santos was to blame for making the decision to back Ronaldo when they fell in Morocco's hands. In fact, according to him, the figure of former Juventus and Manchester United players is very much needed by the team.
"You can't win the World Cup with Cristiano on the bench," Figo said as quoted by Football Espana on Monday, December 12, 2022 yesterday.
In the match against Morocco, Ronaldo came on to replace Ruben Neves in the 51st minute. He had one chance in the extra minutes, but goalkeeper Yassine Bono saved him.
That is the second time Ronaldo has been placed on the bench by the 68-year-old coach. Previously in the match against Switzerland in the round of 16, CR7 even played
"Regarding Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench is a mistake. This defeat is Fernando Santos' responsibility," said Figo.
Not only Figo who judged Santos guilty. The same criticism was also conveyed by Ronaldo's lover, Georgina Rodriguez.
According to him, Santos has made a wrong decision. "Today your coach made the wrong decision. He should be a figure who is admired and respected. You also can't defend someone who doesn't deserve it," he wrote.
The failure in Qatar makes Ronaldo's dream of winning the World Cup almost out. The reason is, the next edition of 2026 later he may not have played considering he was 41 years old at that time.
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