Fernando Santos has stated that he has close relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo but insists the forward role will be defined for the rest of the World Cup game.
Portugal head coach Fernando Santos has stated that Cristiano Ronaldo’s role for the remainder of the World Cup is something that has to be ‘defined’.
The former Manchester United player was only named on the bench as Benfica forward Goncalo Ramos hit a hat-trick on his full debut to secure a comfortable 6-1 victory and set up a quarter-final clash with Morocco.
When asked about Ronaldo who came off the bench in their huge victory Santos said: “That is still something that has to be defined.
“I have a very close relationship with him – I always have, I have known him since he was 19 years old.
“This relationship only develops, Ronaldo and I never interpret the human aspect of that of manager and player (in relation to) what we have to do during the match.
“I will always consider in my role that he is an important player to have in the team.”
When asked directly if Ronaldo would play against Morocco, Santos replied bullishly: “Ronaldo will definitely (be involved), all the players on the bench can be used, if they are not in the starting line-up they can play later.
“It is important to look at the example of this player’s history, he is one of the best players in the world at playing professionally, being captain – all we have to do is think about this team collectively.”
Switzerland coach Murat Yakin conceded Portugal had been the better side but said whether Ronaldo started or not had no impact on the result.
“We have to admit that our opponent today was better, faster and more offensive,” he said.
“Unfortunately, our game plan didn’t work out and we have to accept that and I congratulate our opponents on this win. Defeat is painful, we are sad about how we played.
“We had a clear game plan, we had practised it, we also had test games and the team was familiar with the system and formation.
“Whether Ronaldo is playing or not, all of our players are able to play football but the opponent got into the game better and we didn’t manage to get a good start, we saw that many things didn’t work out for us.”
