FIFA WC 2022: Why Ronaldo was benched against Switzerland; Know Reasons
Ronaldo benched WC: Cristiano Ronaldo started from the bench in Portugal’s 6-1 win over Switzerland in their Round of 16 clash last night.
This opened a pandoras box once again after similar scenes were visible for the striker at Manchester United.
There were earlier reports of Santos unhappy about Ronaldo’s reaction to his substitution in their last Group H match vs South Korea.
However, there was a change in Portugal’s approach in the massive win over SUI. Hence, we look at some of the reasons for Ronaldo being benched last night.
Tactical Reasons
Recent stats across club and country have shown that CR7 isn’t the player he was in his prime due to which the team moves slower on the pitch.
Ronaldo’s presence in the team doesn’t guarantee goals as often while the pace of play is reduced.
In the win last night, Portugal wasn’t only quicker but more imperious and ruthless in their approach which saw them hammer 6 past Yan Sommer.
Fernando Santos on Cristiano Ronaldo:
“There is no problem with our captain. We’ve been friends for years. We spoke before the game and he had no issue with my decision. He’s an example.” 👏🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/vzGNMXq8TQ
— LiveScore (@livescore) December 6, 2022
The team could continue with this move as they have seen results help them prosper better. Ronaldo could now be used as an impact substitute to win games from the bench.
Yesterday’s team 11 could be the start of the new dawn under Santos.
Ramos Steps up
Also read: FIFA World Cup Quarter-Final Teams Name, how to watch Live Streaming in India, Channel Link
The move to start Ramos over Ronaldo bore rich dividends for Santos as the Benfica striker scored his first ever international and World Cup hat-trick.
Ramos also provided an assist to notch up a thrilling performance on his debut start for the nation.
It was just the catalyst needed for Portugal given their decent start to the World Cup. They weren’t imperious throughout but with Ramos; there was a different energy to the play for Santos’ side.
GONÇALO RAMOS WITH THE FIRST HAT TRICK OF THE 2022 WORLD CUP 🎩 pic.twitter.com/CGWZ5KVwUT
— B/R Football (@brfootball) December 6, 2022
Goncalo is a young man set to replace Ronaldo, when the latter calls it quits and a start like this can give him massive confidence
Cristiano out of form in 2022
His departure from United was world news while his performances standards dropped massively.
Ronaldo scored 3 goals for Man United in 2022-23 till date across competitions and was a regular feature on the bench for Ten Hag’s side.
Ronaldo has failed to score in 35 of his 45 games in 2022. That’s the 80% (EIGHTY) of his games.
How does he keep getting away with this? 😭😭 pic.twitter.com/YI4oGPhLc1
— Nolo (@NoloFCB) December 2, 2022
Even in Portugal, he did not start the WC in top notch having found the net only once in the campaign. A more influential striker up top and an in-form striker in Ramos was preferred.
The Benfica lad scored 9 goals in 11 appearances for the club this season and deserved a go in the starting 11.
With the performance last night, he may have sealed his place for the Q/F vs Morocco; whereas CR7 could once again be seen warming the bench.
