Cristiano Ronaldo benched in opposition to Switzerland in Round of 16 conflict

Cristiano Ronaldo won’t begin the final 16 match in opposition to Switzerland on Tuesday. This comes on the heels of latest experiences that Portugal coach Fernando Santos was not pleased with Ronaldo’s gestures after being subbed off in opposition to South Korea of their final group match. Pepe will captain the facet tonight.

The 37-year-old striker opened the match with a purpose in opposition to Ghana to develop into the primary participant to attain in 5 completely different World Cups. But he was ineffective in Portugal’s remaining two video games of group play and was pulled halfway by means of the second half of a 2-1 loss to South Korea.

In the defeat to Korea, Ronaldo was withdrawn halfway by means of the second half. While going out, he had put an index finger to his lips as and later mentioned he was irked by the opposition striker Cho Gue-sung for asking him to hurry up his exit.

“What happened was before my substitution, the South Korea player told me to get off quickly. I told him to shut up as he doesn’t have that authority. There was no disagreement (with the coach),” Ronaldo was quoted as saying by Portuguese reporters.

“Yes, I did not like it, not at all. I really did not like it and from that moment on that issue is finished,” Santos had mentioned when requested about his feedback on the scenario throughout a pre-match press convention on Monday.

The coach had additionally refused to touch upon hypothesis again dwelling about whether or not Ronaldo would function in his lineup in opposition to the Swiss on Tuesday, would begin on the bench or if he would skipper the facet.

“I only decide who is going to be captain when I reach the stadium,” Santos mentioned. “I still don’t know what the lineup will be. That’s what I’ve always done and that’s what I’m always going to do and it’s going to be the same tomorrow. The other topic is solved. We have fixed that in-house and that’s it.”

With Ronaldo, Portugal has superior to the spherical of 16 of the World Cup in 4 of his 5 tournaments, however he’s by no means performed in a World Cup remaining. Portugal in 2006 misplaced to France within the semifinals — the deepest Ronaldo has ever reached on the World Cup.

Although he’s scored in 5 tournaments, he has solely eight whole targets in 20 World Cup matches. His 118 targets in worldwide play is a world file for males, however Ronaldo has by no means scored within the knockout stage of the World Cup.