Fernando Santos has made it clear that he won't be dropping Cristiano Ronaldo - despite his struggles with Portugal.
The Manchester United megastar endured a frustrating international break, squandering the opportunity to win the Nations League for the second time in his career, as Spain pulled off a late 1-0 win in Braga to pip Portugal to a place in the finals. Add to that a black eye and nasty cut to the nose as well as a long-awaited charge by the FA, Ronaldo is visibly going through a rough patch.
And that's sparked debate in his homeland over whether Ronaldo should continue to lead the line heading into the World Cup which begins in less than two months' time. Having been dropped by Erik ten Hag at United due to not fitting with his free-flowing style of football, Santos is now facing calls to bench the 37-year-old in Qatar.
But the Portugal manger, who's maintained an unwavering faith in Ronaldo during his eight-year tenure, has reaffirmed that the veteran will still be his starting striker come November. Asked about Ronaldo's lacklustre performance against Spain post-match, Santos replied: "What interests me is how the team played. Ronaldo had three or four chances. Two very good ones, which he usually scores. He didn't score. It's football."
The 67-year-old's comments were also a response to the intense pressure from sections of Portuguese media in the build-up to Tuesday's defeat. Many outlets called for Ronaldo to be dropped in favour of Liverpool forward Diogo Jota, AC Milan dynamo Rafael Leao or Atletico Madrid ace Joao Felix.
As for the game itself, Portugal only needed a draw to ensure their place in next summer's Nations League finals, having smashed the Czech Republic 4-0 on Saturday. Ronaldo registered an assist in Prague, while United teammates Diogo Dalot and Bruno Fernandes contributed to two goals each.
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Unfortunately for Santos and co, Spain proved to be a much tougher opponent and came away with all three points thanks to Alvaro Morata 's 88th-minute winner. The resulted mirrored Portugal's dramatic 2-1 loss to Serbia last November, when once again the Navegadores only required a draw at home to automatically reach the World Cup, forcing them to qualify through the play-offs.
Critical of the details within his side's performance against Spain, Santos - who'll likely need a strong World Cup campaign to keep his job - added: "This is the second time we've conceded a goal right at the end [after the Serbia defeat]. If we have to defend we should defend with everything. The players and I are devastated at the end of this game.
"Did I learn from the Serbia game? You can't compare this game to the Serbia game. Against Serbia we scored but then we did not create any more chances. We've changed a lot since then, the way we play, the way we think about the game. Of course there are always things to improve. This elimination doesn't undermine me at all. I have a contract until 2024."
