Ex Portugal boss insists his decision to drop Ronaldo at World Cup was right and he'll do it again

Ex-Portugal manager Fernando Santos has retrospectively characterized his choice to bench Cristiano Ronaldo during the 2022 FIFA World Cup as a "strategic" move.

Santos took the unexpected step of dropping Ronaldo for their round-of-16 clash against Switzerland following the star player's relatively subdued performance, having scored only once in three group-stage matches.

The 69-year-old manager's tactical adjustment seemed to pay dividends when Ronaldo's replacement in the lineup, Goncalo Ramos, notched a hat-trick, propelling the Selecao to the quarterfinals with an impressive 6-1 victory.

However, the strategic manoeuvre failed to yield a similar outcome in the subsequent quarterfinal tie against Morocco, culminating in Portugal's exit with a 1-0 defeat despite Ronaldo's appearance as a substitute, per ESPN.

Nearly a year after the pivotal decision, Santos has revisited his choice, shedding light on the reasoning behind his actions.

He emphasized that he would make the same decision to bench the star player again if given the opportunity today.

“I made the same decision! It was a strategic decision. First of all, I have to think about the team. I thought strategically was the best decision," he told A Bola as cited by The Nassr Zone.

"Me and my technical team, not least because as you will understand, we discussed this subject. It was not a light decision. Even for the personal issue, friendship and others, because he had a great weight. It's true.

"But I had a bigger strategic decision, and I thought it was better. It doesn't mean that Cristiano wouldn't enter, not least because he would enter and could play at first in the next game.

"But the game went so well, so well with Switzerland that in the following game, it made no sense to change."