DOHA, Qatar (AP) — To Bruno Fernandes, World Cup teammate Cristiano Ronaldo is probably the most well-known athlete in sports activities. Joao Felix has described Ronaldo as “irreplaceable.”Gonçalo Ramos, Portugal’s new 21-year-old star, has by no means identified his nationwide workforce with out Ronaldo concerned in it.A future with out the nation’s biggest ever participant might be a frightening prospect to the up-and-coming era of Portugal internationals.They aren’t exhibiting it on the World Cup.Actually, they confirmed they may even be liberated by stepping out of Ronaldo’s lengthy shadow given the way in which Portugal demolished Switzerland 6-1 within the spherical of 16 on Tuesday.Seems there’s life after the five-time world participant of the 12 months, even when that’s exhausting for some to think about.Portugal coach Fernando Santos wished a workforce “enjoying with loads of fluidity” towards Switzerland and that invariably meant leaving the 37-year-old Ronaldo — the participant with extra objectives (118) than anybody in males’s worldwide soccer — on the bench. It was a giant name and it couldn’t have gone higher, at the very least towards Switzerland.It’s a name that Erik ten Hag has made at Manchester United this season, preferring to have extra cell gamers in his entrance 4 than an undoubted aim machine whose motion is now not what it was.It took till the spherical of 16 for Santos to make that transfer on the World Cup, together with his convictions strengthened by his apparent unhappiness at Ronaldo’s angle after being substituted within the group recreation towards South Korea.The Portuguese soccer federation insisted Thursday that Ronaldo was devoted to the workforce, saying he had constructed up a “distinctive observe document day by day” of service for his nation and had an “unquestionable diploma of dedication to the nationwide workforce.”That received’t essentially assure him begins sooner or later.In opposition to Switzerland, Ramos — who got here in for Ronaldo, to the shock of many, and scored a hat trick on his debut — stretched the opposition protection greater than Ronaldo sometimes does. It gave Felix, enjoying simply behind Ramos, more room to work in and he produced one among his finest performances for Portugal.It couldn’t be farther from the Felix that appears so constrained below Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid, working as exhausting on his defensive self-discipline and preserving workforce form as what he affords in assault.Santos went via the attributes of the three strikers in his squad — Ronaldo, Ramos and Andre Silva — and mentioned that whereas Ronaldo is a participant “who’s extra fastened and performs in a extra decided space,” Ramos is “extra dynamic.”So dropping Ronaldo requires a shift in recreation plan. It might need labored towards Switzerland, however will it work towards Morocco?Seeking to change into the primary African workforce to succeed in the World Cup semifinals, Morocco is anticipated to defend deep towards Portugal and play on the counterattack. Santos has to make the decision whether or not that is extra of a recreation for Ronaldo — one among soccer’s biggest ever gamers — or to stay with the participant who simply had the sport of his life.It’s not a foul scenario to be in, and leaves Portugal as a really harmful proposition both means.___AP World Cup protection: https://Fifanews.com/hub/world-cup and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Portugal stepping out of Ronaldo’s lengthy shadow at World Cup
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