A Portugal XI was nominated without Rono for a second consecutive knockout match. The most troubling things for Rono fans are happening everywhere. The main discussion now is why a superstar like Ronaldo, who is also the identity of Portugal, is left out in the most important matches of the World Cup.
Why did manager Fernando Sanres have the audacity to announce the Portugal XI without the captain himself?
This question leads to Roano’s former club, Manchester United. The numbers show that there is a stark difference between a team with Cristiano Ronaldo and a team without. Opta, a manager of soccer analytics Twitter, said the 37-year-old had failed to keep up with his youth. According to this report, Rono’s United side lack pace.
Manager Ten Haag only included the superstar in the game eleven in two games. The average distance covered by the team is 98.5 km. 0.5 points per game. Meanwhile, Manchester have played eight games without the Portuguese captain in their starting eleven. The average distance covered by the team is 108.5 km. 2.25 points per game. The legendary player scored just two goals for the team that day.
The same reason is why Portugal manager Fernando Santos decided to exclude Ronaldo from the main competition of a tournament such as the World Cup. Meanwhile, Gonzalo Ramos, who replaced Ronaldo in the last game, is also in good shape. The player came back with a hat-trick in the first game where he secured a place in the first eleven. The result of the match was revealing as manager Fernando Santos benched Ronaldo and decided to eliminate Ramos.
Meanwhile, 39-year-old Pepe, who captained in the last game, also scored a goal against Switzerland while Cristiano Ronaldo was on the bench. With the goal, Pepe achieved another record. Pepe became the oldest player to score in the knockout stages. The actor’s age is 39 years and 283 days. After Pepe scored a goal, Ronaldo also ran onto the pitch to congratulate him.
Portugal have once again announced their starting XI without Cristiano Ronaldo.
The squad for the quarter-finals against Morocco has been announced. Portugal continues to line up without changing their formation since the last game: in the last game of the pre-quarter against Switzerland, Gonzalo Ramos was replaced by Ronaldo. Romos came back with a hat-trick that day. It was the first time since 2008 that Portugal had announced a starting eleven in their last game without Ronaldo. Later, in the final minutes of the match, Rono was taken out by manager Fernando Santos. After Pele, Ramos became the youngest player to score a hat-trick in the knockout stage. Also, Qatar’s first hat-trick at the World Cup was scored by Ramos.
Hat-trick for Ramos, six for Portugal; How the Swiss Army Was Destroyed at Headquarters
In the pre-quarter match, the world watched the Swiss army chariot race. Portugal won with six goals. Gonzalo Ramos, who replaced superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, scored a hat-trick. Captain Pepe, Rafael Guerrero and Rafael Leo each scored, Manuel Akanji scored a goal for Switzerland and 21-year-old Ramos scored his first World Cup hat-trick in Qatar. Gonzalo Ramos scored the first goal in the 17th minute of the game following an assist from Jao Felix. Lui received the ball from a flick-in by Felix and hit the top left corner of the post. The second goal was a pass from Dalot in the 51st minute. Ramos scored his third goal in the 67th minute. Raphael scored in the 55th minute. The assist was Gonzalo Ramos who was brilliant throughout the game. Pepe’s goal came from a corner in the 32nd minute. With this, Pepe became the oldest player to score in the knockout stages. The star’s age is 39 years and 283 days. Akunchi scored a goal for Switzerland in the 58th minute. Leo’s goal was assisted by Guerreroia in the 92nd minute, Jao Felix was withdrawn in the 73rd minute and Cristiano Ronaldo came on. Ramos and Otavia were retired and Ricardo Horta and Vitinha were eliminated. Switzerland’s Fabian Sanger saw a yellow card in the 43rd minute. Action has been taken for a foul on Felix. Subsequently, Ronaldo rattled the Swiss goal once, but the offside flag was raised.
