By Victor Kanayo
Clubless football star Cristiano Ronaldo is mostly likely to be dropped from Portugal’s starting lineup ahead of their round of 16 clash against Switzerland on Tuesday night in the ongoing 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The reported exclusion is happening after the former Manchester United player left Coach Fernando Santos enraged when he was substituted against South Korea.
The 37-year-old, who has scored one goal in the tournament so far, being a penalty in Portugal’s opener against Ghana, was visibly unhappy after being taken off after 65 minutes in last week’s 2-1 defeat.
Santos on Monday admitted he was not happy with Ronaldo’s reaction, but didn’t confirm if the Portuguese man will be benched.
However, Portuguese sources have now revealed that Ronaldo has paid the price for his reaction and has been named on the bench, with Goncalo Ramos expected to replace him in the starting line-up.
Portugal are looking to win the World Cup for the first time in their history, in what will likely be the last time Ronaldo features in the competition. The forward has scored in five consecutive World Cups.
Meanwhile, PSG playmaker Kylian Mbappe did not come out with his France teammates for training on Tuesday December 5, four days before their crunch World Cup quarter-final with England.
Mbappe is believed to be a Three Lion’s biggest threat going into Saturday’s match, as he tops the tournament’s scoring charts with five goals in four games.
Les Bleus staff said Mbappe did not take part due to ongoing recovery work following their victory over Poland on Sunday, despite others who featured in the same match, including Olivier Giroud, who did take part in the session.
Mbappe had complained of an ankle injury going into the tournament but that has not affected his performances as he has arguably been the star player in Qatar.
His absence will have been the biggest news among the truckload of English and Brazilian journalists who attended France’s open training session on Monday.
Mbappe still has plenty of time to return to full fitness ahead of the clash with the Three Lions, with the two sides not playing until Saturday December 10.
