The Portugal national team defeated Switzerland 1:6 yesterday (Tuesday) and qualified for the quarterfinals after the most impressive performance among the round of 16 games, but the story, of course, was Cristiano Ronaldo.
The one who is considered the greatest Portuguese player of all time was removed from the lineup, saw Gonzalo Ramos from the bench start in his place and score a hat trick on the way to an unforgettable performance.
As many of the team's fans have believed for a long time, Portugal looks much better without Cristiano.
It was difficult to analyze exactly what Ronaldo was feeling.
In the past he stated that he didn't care how many he scored, the main thing is that the team and the national team win, and indeed in Ramos' goals he was seen jubilant on the bench and joined the celebrating group.
On the other hand, at the end of the game he went down to the dressing room alone and looked a little dejected, while his friends were still celebrating the great victory with the crowd.
At the end of the game, despite everything, Cristiano Ronaldo appeared in front of the cameras and first of all denied that he agreed to join the Saudi Al Nasser for about 200 million euros per season: "It's not true."
According to his associates, his intention is to find a team in Europe - preferably one that qualified for the round of 16 of the Champions League.
Watch the recap of Portugal's victory over Switzerland: courtesy of Kaan 11 - the official broadcaster of the 2022 World Cup. Live broadcasts, recaps, statistics and more await you on Kaan's World Cup page
Celebrating the goals.
Ronaldo (Photo: Reuters)
The photographers before the game take pictures of Ronaldo on the bench and not the players of the Portugal national team during the anthems (Photo: Reuters)
Even in terms of the audience in Qatar, Ronaldo was the big story, and the fans in the stadium wanted very much to see the star enter and called "Cristiano, Cristiano" begging him to enter.
Cristiano entered as a substitute (72), but was unable to score.
CR7 did not comment on this, but wrote on his Instagram: "An amazing day for Portugal, with a historic victory in the biggest competition in the world of football. A prestigious performance by a team full of talent and young players. The dream is alive!".
The players celebrate, Ronaldo goes down to the dressing room
The English commentator Gary Neville, who lately has been harshly criticizing CR7, said: "His legacy is clear and will remain forever, but now he must play better. Was the Juventus coach wrong to release him? Was the Manchester United coach wrong, and now the Portugal coach was wrong? Ten The brother didn't want him in the team because he felt that United was better without him, does the coach of Portugal feel the same way?"
Ian Wright even added that "as big as he is, it's a team game, and he's not good enough. His story doesn't end well, because right now he doesn't seem to be enjoying himself either. He doesn't seem happy, which is sad. How many times in his life has he heard the word no? ".
Former soccer player Nigel de Jong said: "A great player like Ronaldo should leave the field in style, with respect. You can see that he is nervous by the way he has been behaving in recent months. His team has a chance to succeed, and he should be a leader, regardless of his personal situation, But it's hard for him.
As I recall, a few days ago in the Portuguese "A Bola" a survey was published according to which 70 percent of the voters claim that he should not start in the lineup.
Ronaldo even caused tension with coach Fernando Santos when he hissed a curse at him after being substituted against South Korea.
According to Jamie Krager, "Did Santos remove him from the squad because of his reaction after the substitution? Maybe a team coach does that. When you're 3 games away from the World Cup final, I think he's left out because of his ability, not the reaction."
The English commentator Matt Barlow also wrote that "Santos' patience with Ronaldo finally ran out, and he was immediately rewarded for leaving him out of the squad... Portugal already won Euro 2016 without Ronaldo. Maybe they will do it again in Qatar?".
In the French "L'Aquipe" it was written: "Fernando Santos made a difficult choice, and dealt a blow to Switzerland."
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It should be noted that the players of the national team defended him.
Joao Felix said at the end that "even when Ronaldo is on the field we play well, the coach is responsible for the formations".
Ramos, who scored the hat trick, said: "He is our captain, he is our leader, of course he blessed me, he always tries to help. I grew up on him, and I have a lot to learn from him."
Pepe, who at the age of 39 scored and proved that age is not a limitation, said: "Ronaldo knows very well that the most important thing is 'us'. The coach today made a decision, and we must respect it."
Ottavio said: "We have 26 players, and each one is important, and it's no wonder that Gonzalo came in and did the job. But we know how important Ronaldo is, he's a star, and he helped us from the bench."
When asked about the issues surrounding Cristiano, he said: "These things do not affect our dressing room, we are focused on our unity. We run for each other, there is an incredible spirit here."
Coach Fernando Santos said of him: "There is no problem with our captain, we have been friends for years. We spoke before the game and he had no problem with my decision. He is a player who serves as an example."
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