Ronaldo not named starter amid coaching fallout

Cristiano Ronaldo was not included as one of Portugal‘s starters in Tuesday’s 6-1 win over Switzerland since his falling out with coach Fernando Santos after Friday’s World Cup game against South Korea.

Ronaldo came off the bench in the 73rd minute to a rousing ovation from the crowd and had a goal ruled out for offside as his team went on to trounce the Swiss and set up a quarterfinal clash with Morocco on Saturday.

Portugal’s starting lineup included Goncalo Ramos, who scored a hat trick in Tuesday’s win, up front along with Diogo Costa, Diogo Dalot, Pepe, Ruben Dias, Raphael Guerreiro, Bruno Fernandes, Otavio, Bernardo Silva, João Felix and William Carvalho.

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Ronaldo looked visibly frustrated when he was replaced in the 65th minute of the 2-1 defeat to South Korea, with cameras catching the 37-year-old appearing to say: “He’s in a rush to sub me.”

Ronaldo was then involved in a verbal altercation with South Korea player Cho Gue-sung as he left the field, and it was only after the game that Santos realised how Ronaldo had reacted to his substitution.

The long-time Portugal coach blasted the country’s all-time leading scorer the day after the loss to South Korea, saying he didn’t like what he saw from Ronaldo as he was pulled from the game.

Ronaldo, the first man to score in five World Cups, has only one goal in Qatar, coming in Portugal’s group opener against Ghana.