Portugal coach dumped after Ronaldo debacle

1 year ago 78

Portugal manager Fernando Santos has quit, the Portuguese shot federation announced, aft 8 years successful the occupation aft Portugal’s exit from the World Cup successful the 4th finals.

The 68-year-old Santos reached an amicable statement with the federation to permission 2 years earlier his declaration ends, a connection said.

The federation named nary replacement for Santos and said it was starting its search.

Santos led Portugal to the 2016 European Championship rubric — the country’s archetypal planetary trophy — and the inaugural UEFA Nations League rubric successful 2019.

Portugal near Qatar aft a 1-0 nonaccomplishment to Morocco successful the World Cup 4th finals.

The Portuguese squad had an enviable extent of endowment and won its opening 2 games successful the radical stage. In the circular of 16, it made a splash by thrashing Switzerland 6-1.

But Portugal’s aboriginal departure from Qatar was wide regarded arsenic an underachievement.

Whoever takes implicit faces a tricky question of however to negociate Cristiano Ronaldo’s aboriginal relation successful the team.

The 37-year-old star, who has made 5 appearances astatine World Cups implicit 16 years and is Portugal’s grounds scorer and top ever player, was dropped from the starting lineup for the Switzerland crippled erstwhile a caller procreation of Portuguese players emphatically made their mark.

Against Morocco, helium again started connected the bench.

Those tactical options caused friction betwixt Santos and his prima player, who near the tract successful tears aft the Morocco defeat.

In a aboriginal Instagram post, Ronaldo said his imagination of winning the World Cup had “ended,” but helium didn’t accidental helium would discontinue from planetary duty.

Portugal’s qualifying run for Euro 2024, astatine least, appears straightforward. In Group J its opponents are Bosnia, Iceland, Slovakia, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg.

Portugal's adjacent planetary games are successful March.

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