Cristiano Ronaldo News: Portugal’s shocking 1-0 defeat to Morocco on Saturday put an end to Cristiano Ronaldo’s hopes of winning a FIFA World Cup. With Ronaldo coming in as a second-half replacement, Morocco became the first African nation to go to the World Cup semifinals.

In the round of 16, Portugal faced Switzerland without Ronaldo. Despite eventually winning 6-1, Portugal’s assault was unable to break through the resolute Moroccan defence for most of the second half. Moroccans were handed another setback when star centre defender and captain Roman Saiss was injured. He had to be carried off the field on a stretcher in added time.

Luis Figo, the former captain of Portugal and a previous number 7 jersey holder before Ronaldo, has criticized Fernando Santos for his decision to bench the former Real Madrid attacker.

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What did Luis Figo say about Cristiano Ronaldo not playing?

The 38-year-old Ronaldo is largely anticipated to retire from international play after the World Cup in Qatar. Ronaldo played in his 196th international match on Saturday. Thus putting him tied for second all-time in international appearances. After Portugal’s 1-0 defeat to Morocco in the World Cup semifinals on Saturday, Ronaldo was in tears as he walked to the dressing room.

Given the wealth of skill in Portugal’s team, a run to the quarterfinals was a bare minimum expectation. After taking care of business in its first two games, the club cruised through the group stage. The last group stage encounter was a 2-1 victory against South Korea thanks to an injury-time goal. 

The team subsequently went on to beat Switzerland 6-1 in the round of 16. Coach Fernando Santos shuffled his starting eleven extensively for each of these games. Portugal was anticipated to get through Morocco in the quarterfinals despite Morocco’s strong defence and position as the surprise of the tournament. This loss represents a squandered chance and perhaps an overall underperformance by Ronaldo and his squad.

“You can’t win a Football World Cup with Ronaldo on the bench. Alright, you won against Switzerland? Great result! But can you do this every game? No. Leaving Ronaldo out was a mistake. This loss is on the team management and the manager,” said Figo on Sports18.

Without a question, Cristiano Ronaldo will go down as one of the all-time greats of professional football. However, he is unlikely to win the World Cup, which would be the crowning achievement of his sparkling career. Ronaldo, at 37 years old, will have to go home empty-handed from the FIFA World Cup 2022 after Portugal was eliminated in the group stage.

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