A Portugal XI has been named without Rono for the second straight knockout match. The most troubling things for Rono fans are happening all around. The main discussion now is why a superstar like Ronaldo, who is also the identity of Portugal, is left out in the most important matches of the World Cup.
Why did coach Fernando Sanres have the courage to announce the Portugal XI without the captain himself?
This question leads to Roano’s former club, Manchester United. The numbers show that there is a definite difference between a team with Cristiano Ronaldo and a team without. Opta, a football analysis Twitter handle, opined that the 37-year-old could not keep up with the youthfulness. According to this report, Rono’s United team lacks pace.
Coach Ten Haag included the superstar in the playing eleven only in two matches. The average distance covered by the team is 98.5 km. 0.5 points per game. Meanwhile, Manchester played eight games without the Portuguese captain in the starting eleven. The average distance covered by the team is 108.5 km. 2.25 points per game. The legendary player scored only two goals for the team that day.
The same reason is the reason why Portugal coach Fernando Santos decided to exclude Ronaldo from the main competition of a tournament like the World Cup. Meanwhile, Gonzalo Ramos, who replaced Ronaldo in the last match, is also in good form. The player returned with a hat-trick in the first match where he got a place in the first eleven. The result of the match was revealing as coach Fernando Santos benched Ronaldo and decided to drop Ramos.
Meanwhile, 39-year-old Pepe, who was the captain in the last game, also scored a goal against Switzerland while Cristiano Ronaldo was on the substitutes’ bench. With the goal, Pepe reached another record. Pepe became the oldest player to score in the knockout stages. The actor’s age is 39 years and 283 days. After Pepe scored a goal, Ronaldo also ran on the field to congratulate him.
Portugal announced the starting XI again without Cristiano Ronaldo.
The squad for the quarter-final against Morocco has been announced. Portugal is still lining up without changing the line-up from the last match. In the last pre-quarter match against Switzerland, Gonzalo Ramos was replaced by Ronaldo. Romos returned with a hat-trick that day. It was the first time since 2008 that Portugal announced a starting eleven in the last match without Ronaldo. Later, in the last minutes of the match, Rono was dropped by coach Fernando Santos. After Pele, Ramos became the youngest player to score a hat-trick in the knockout stages. Also, the first hat-trick in the Qatar World Cup was marked by Ramos.
Hat-trick for Ramos, six for Portugal; How the Swiss army was destroyed in the prequarters
In the pre-quarter match, the world saw the chariot race of the Swiss army. Portugal won by six goals. Gonzalo Ramos, who replaced superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, scored a hat-trick. Captain Pepe, Rafael Guerrero and Rafael Leo each scored goals. Manuel Akanji scored a goal for Switzerland. The 21-year-old Ramos has scored his first hat-trick in the World Cup in Qatar. Gonzalo Ramos scored the first goal in the 17th minute of the match with an assist from Jao Felix. He received the ball through a throw in from Felix and hit the top left corner of the post. The second goal was a pass from Dalot in the 51st minute. Ramos scored his third goal in the 67th minute. Raphael scored in the 55th minute. The assist was Gonzalo Ramos who was brilliant throughout the match. Pepe’s goal was from the penalty corner in the 32nd minute. With this, Pepe became the oldest player to score in the knockout stages. The age of the star is 39 years and 283 days. Akunchi scored a goal for Switzerland in the 58th minute. Leo’s goal was assisted by Guerreroia in the 92nd minute. In the 73rd minute, Jao Felix was withdrawn and Cristiano Ronaldo was brought on. Ramos and Otavia were withdrawn and Ricardo Horta and Vitinha were dropped. Switzerland’s Fabian Sanger saw a yellow card in the 43rd minute. Action was taken for fouling Felix. Later, Ronaldo shook the Swiss net once, but the offside flag was raised.