FIFA World Cup 2022: Ronaldo or not to do?

In the final Round 2 game dropped Cristiano Ronaldorsquos replacement rookie Goncalo Ramos scored a stunning hattrickCristiano Ronaldo and Portugal are inseparable Or are they On Tuesday night the superstar forward was dropped from the playing XI by coach Fernando Santos following the playerrsquos poor reaction at being subbed off during their previous match against South Korea However a Ronaldoless Portugal put out their best performance in this competition to finish with a 61 hammering of a Switzerland team that had been previously seemed nowhere as hapless as they appeared to be on the nightAdding insult to injury for Ronaldo the man who was picked in his place Goncalo Ramos went on to score the tournamentrsquos first hattrickRamos 21 scored in the 17th 61st and 67th minute while teammates Pepe 33rd Raphael Guerreiro 55th and Rapfael Leao 92nd added one each to complete the rout Manuel Akanji 58th pulled one back for SwitzerlandFernando SantosRonaldo was eventually brought on in the 74th minute but only after the crowd at the Lusail Stadium began chanting lsquoRonaaaaaldo Ronaaaaaldorsquo around 10 minutes earlier Ronaldo couldnrsquot get too much of the ball but inevitably there was too much talk about him after the final whistleCoach Santos clarified that his relationship with his star forward was absolutely fine ldquoThat Ronaldorsquos role henceforth is something that has to be defined I have a very close relationship with him like Irsquove always had I have known him since he was 19 years old This relationship can only develop Ronaldo and myself never interpret the human aspect of that of managerplayer relationship I will always consider him to be an important player for our teamrdquo said Santos going on to hint however that the 37yearold might continue to start from the bench for the quarterfinal against Morocco on SaturdayAlso ReadFIFA World Cup 2022 Row with Manchester United wonrsquot shake Portugal says Cristiano RonaldoTeam strategyldquoRonaldo will definitely be involved in the quarterfinal All the players on the bench can be used If they are not in the starting lineup they can come in later Itrsquos important to look at the example of this playerrsquos history Ronaldo is one of the best players in the world He is a professional a captain But right now we have to think about this team collectively And the team played well todayrdquo added SantosCristiano Ronaldo PicGetty ImageslsquoA historic resultrsquoRonaldo however remains positive even congratulating the coach on his team selection ldquoIncredible day for Portugal with a historic result in the biggest competition in world football Luxury exhibition of a team full of talent and youth Our Selection is to be congratulated The dream is alive Until the end Strength Portugalrdquo he wrote on InstagramThe young star of the night Ramos meanwhile insisted that Ronaldo remains their hero ldquoCristiano is our leader and always tries to help us Hersquos a great guy hersquos an idol for usrdquo he saidRonaldorsquos exManchester United teammate Bruno Fernandes however admitted that the star striker would not have been happy on the bench ldquoNo one likes to be on the bench I donrsquot think he Ronaldo is happy If the manager had put me on the bench Irsquod be angryrdquo said FernandesAngry fans lash outThe fans arenrsquot happy too ldquoIrsquove paid 300 Euros Rs 26000 approximately for this match ticket because I wanted to see Cristiano in his last World Cup At least respect his achievements and the effort of the fans who are filling up the stadium for himrdquo said Joao Santiago a 43yearold salesman from Lisbon who will be returning home disappointed after watching his hero in action for just 15 minutes