Portugal Coach Dos Santos has confirmed his position on whether to start Cristiano Ronaldo in the World Cup quarterfinal clash against Morocco, MySportDab reports.
Ronaldo has been at the center of controversies in Portugal World Cup squad in Qatar following his controversial reaction in the final group game against South Korea.
For the first time in the tournament, Portugal head coach Dos Santos opted to subbed off the former Manchester United forward during South Korea game.
When Ronaldo’s number was up for substitution, the former Real Madrid star appeared to have gone furious and muttered angry remarks.
While many thought Ronaldo directed the remark at Dos Santos for taking him off the game, Ronaldo later came out to clear the air dismissing the assumptions.
According to him, he directed his angry outburst at a South Korean player who attempted to hurry him off the pitch when he was substituted.
In the next game against Switzerland, Dos Santos dropped Ronaldo on the bench and replaced him with 21-year-old Benfica forward Goncalo Ramos.
Goncalo Ramos bagged a hat-trick to help Portugal secure a 6-1 win over Switzerland to set up a quarterfinal clash with Morocco.
Dos Santos later subbed on Ronaldo in the game. After the match, Ronaldo was seen walking off the pitch when his teammates were clapping the fans and celebrating the win.
It was believed that the former Manchester United was not happy being benched by Dos Santos, making him angrily walk off the pitch after the win.
Meanwhile, reports equally emerge of him refusing to join Portugal substitutes training despite playing for less than 20 minutes during the Switzerland game.
He also reportedly attempted to quit Portugal World Cup squad in Qatar after the incident – a report he and Portugal FA has come out to deny.
With the controversies surrounding the place of Ronaldo in the Portugal World Cup Dos Santos was asked whether he will start Ronaldo against Morocco, and the Portugal boss replied;
“Ronaldo will definitely [be involved], all the players on the bench can be used, if they are not in the starting line-up they can play later.
“It is important to look at the example of this player’s history, he is one of the best players in the world at playing professionally, being captain – all we have to do is think about this team collectively.”
