Fernando Santos replaced Ronaldo with Goncalo Ramos, in the Portugal side for the last-16 tie and he scored three goals as Portugal made a statement with a stunning 6-1 win.
Ronaldo team mate Bruno Fernandes has insisted any member of the Portugal squad would have angry to be benched.
Ronaldo, failing to start at a major tournament for his country for the first time since Euro 2008, came off the bench with 17 minutes to play, seeing an effort chalked off for offside.
The former Real Madrid star was dropped in similar circumstances by Erik ten Hag in October with Manchester United terminating the striker’s contract at the start of the month.
His former United teammate Fernandes insists Ronaldo remains a key part of the squad, admitting the veteran was frustrated to have been left out.
Read Also: Fernando Santo: Cristiano Ronaldo Still ‘Very Important’ To Portugal
Fernandez:
‘Do you think anyone likes to be on the bench.?”
‘I don’t think Cristiano would be happy. If the manager put me on the bench in the next game, I would be angry.’
‘We won the first two games with Cristiano in the first 11, and it could be that if Cristiano played, he could score three goals and no one would be speaking about Cristiano being on the bench.
‘Cristiano is doing his job, he’s doing his part, he’s happy with the result because the goal for everyone is to go as far as possible.
‘I don’t think people should be talking about Cristiano and why he’s not playing,
because when Cristiano plays and the team wins, no one talks about that.
‘When Cristiano plays and the team loses, everyone talks.
[He is] the most famous player in the world. No one is more famous than Cristiano in sports, not in football, in sports.’
Portugal take on Morocco to book a place in the semi-finals on Saturday.
