Cristiano Ronaldo started from the bench in Portugal’s round of 16 victory against Switzerland on Tuesday night, with Goncalo Ramos being picked ahead of him.
And the 21-year-old striker did not disappoint, banging in three goals to lead the Portuguese to a 6-1 thumping of the Swiss, and becoming the first player to net a hat-trick at the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar.
Ronaldo is believed to have been dropped because of his reaction to being substituted in their 2-1 defeat to South Korea, which left the coach unhappy.
The 37-year-old is no stranger to such behavior, after falling off with Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag for a similar stunt during his time at the Theatre of Dreams.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner stormed down the Old Trafford tunnel during their Premier League 2-0 victory against Tottenham Hotspurs because he did not want to come on for the last two minutes of the match.
Santos only introduced Ronaldo in the 73rd minute, when he replaced Joao Felix. By that time, Portugal were 5-1 up already.
Speaking to the media after the victory, Santos justified his decision to drop the talisman and suggested that he had no issues starting from the bench. “Cristiano has shown that he is a professional of choice and a captain of a handful. He didn’t create any problem,” said Santos.
“We spoke before the game, and he had no issues with my decision. He is an example.”
Portugal booked themselves a spot in the quarter-finals of the World Cup for just the third time after 1966 and 2006. They will take on a resilient Morocco side at the Al Thumama Stadium on Saturday.
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