Portugal coach Fernando Santos has 'no regrets' about benching Cristiano Ronaldo
Portugal head coach Fernando Santos says he has no regrets about benching Cristiano Ronaldo after his side fell to Morocco in a World Cup quarterfinal on Saturday.
Morocco became the first African team to reach the World Cup semifinal by defeating Portugal 1-0, thanks to a first-half goal from Youssef En-Nesyri.
En-Nesyri's strike just before the half saw Santos respond by bringing Ronaldo off the bench in the 51st minute, but the 37-year-old was unable to inspire his side to a second-half equalizer.
Ronaldo was distraught after the game as he walked off the field and down the tunnel in tears, realizing he had likely played his final World Cup game.
WORLD CUP: Morocco makes history as first African nation to reach semifinals
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Santos made a big call before Portugal's last-16 game against Switzerland, opting to bench Ronaldo after starting him for all three group games. Ronaldo's replacement Gonçalo Ramos went on to score a hat trick as Portugal hammered the Swiss 6-1.
It wasn't a surprise, then, to see Santos make the same call against Morocco, though it didn't quite work out as well. Still, the coach said at the postgame news conference that he wasn't second-guessing himself.
"I don't think so, no regrets," Santos said. "I think this was a team which played very well against Switzerland. Cristiano Ronaldo is a great player, he came in when we thought it was necessary, so no regrets.
"If we take two people that were the most upset [with the loss], it is Cristiano Ronaldo and myself. Of course we are upset, but that is part of the job of the coach and the player."
Ronaldo became the first man to score at five World Cups when he netted against Ghana in Portugal's opener, his eighth career World Cup goal. It would end up being his last of the tournament, though, and the legendary forward also looks like he will end his career without any World Cup knockout round goals.