The reason Cristiano Ronaldo was benched in the 2022 World Cup surprises Portugal fans

The 2022 World Cup was regarded as the last opportunity for Cristiano Ronaldo to help his country, Portugal, win the World Cup for the first ever time. Portugal came into the competition as one of the favorites to win the whole tournament because of the depth of their squad. Young stars like Joao Felix, Rafael Leao, Nuno Mendes, and Goncalo Ramos excited the Portuguese fans. They also had Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, and Ruben Dias, who are regarded as some of the best players in the world.

Cristiano Ronaldo finally had a team that could give him chances to score. The Portuguese team was stacked with great players in each position, and they had a great chance to make an impact in Qatar.

Portugal started the tournament well with a wild 3-2 win against Ghana. Cristiano Ronaldo would score in that game with a penalty kick. Joao Felix and Rafael Leao were the other two who scored for Portugal. They would beat Uruguay 2-0 in the second game and clinched their ticket to the next round with a game to spare. Portugal lost to South Korea in the last group stage 2-1 match.

Something wasn't right after that game because Ronaldo was sitting on the bench for the Round of 16 game against Switzerland. His replacement in the starting lineup was Goncalo Ramos. Ramos would prove his worth in a decisive match by scoring a hat trick in Portugal 6-1 over Switzerland!

Ramos stayed in the starting lineup for the quarter-final game against Morocco, but it didn't work this time because Morroco would defeat Portugal 1-0 and advance to the semifinals! Many questioned the decision of Ronaldo sitting on the bench after the group stage games.

Why was Ronaldo sitting on the bench after the South Korea group-stage game?

Former Portugal manager Fernando Santos spoke recently about his time with Portugal in the 2022 World Cup and decided to explain his decision on Ronaldo being benched. Santos still believes it to be the correct decision, and it was for a tactical reason.

The new Besiktas manager stated, "It was a tactical and technical decision. There was no other situation; Strategic decisions are always the most important things for me. I had to make these decisions, and I made them correctly. If we had not been eliminated from the World Cup, there would have been no problem."

Goncalo Ramos's performance against Switzerland convinced Santos to drop Ronaldo, but the decision would fail during the other knockout game against Morocco. Ronaldo has thrived with Portugal and their new coach, Roberto Martinez, and continues scoring more, ten goals in 9 games in all competitions. Santos also mentions not having any communication with the Portuguese striker. Perhaps Portugal would have had a better chance of making the semifinal with Ronaldo starting the game against Morocco.