Goalkeeper Diogo Costa is the exception that proves the rule. Coach Fernando Santos remains loyal to the players with the longest selection time. In the post-Euro 2020, in which the Quinas squad was knocked out by Belgium in the round of 16, the FC Porto goalkeeper was the only one to earn a place in the eleven, yet counting the same number of minutes by Rui Patrick.
In other words, fifteen months after the frustrating elimination from the European Championship final, the national coach kept virtually the same team structure intact for the 12 matches counting towards the Nations League and qualifying for the 2022 World Cup, and promoted – alongside Diogo Costa – the debuts of midfielders Matheus Nunes, Vitinha and Otávio and striker Rafael Leão. In the 12 official matches played, however, these four players were of little use, with Otávio being the most used with 362 minutes, far from the 893 of Danilo Pereira, the athlete with the longest use (see table).
For the rest, if we take into account the 26 teams that were at Euro 2022 in 2022, in addition to the five debutants, there were the entries of João Cancelo, who was not at the European Championship because he contracted covid-19, Mário Rui, Ricardo Horta and João Mário, who returned to the elected officials after a long absence.
As for the departure, goalkeepers Anthony Lopes and Rui Silva, who were not used in the European Championship, lost space, while Pedro Gonçalves, Sérgio Oliveira and Rafa Silva did not count minutes in the last 15 months, and the Benfica winger announced in the previous week the resignation of the corner team.
Taking into account the players who became European champions in France in 2016, Fernando Santos maintains a group of seven footballers that he does not list in his roster: Rui Patrício, Pepe, Raphaël Guerreiro, João Moutinho, Danilo Pereira, William Carvalho and Cristiano Ronaldo, all of whom were good for 300 minutes after Euro 2020. José Fonte, João Mário and Renato Sanches were also among Portuguese football’s greatest achievements, but are now called out intermittently by Fernando Santos.
Ronaldo interrogated
Criticism of the head coach grew when the side were denied direct entry to the Qatar World Cup from the corners in November, when they lost to Serbia in Luz at the last moments when all they needed was a draw. The play-off qualification calmed the mood, but on Tuesday history repeated itself in Braga, with Spain scoring the last-minute goal of qualifying for the final stage of the League of Nations.
The numbers of player usage prove the conservatism that Fernando Santos has been accused of by critics, the case of Cristiano Ronaldo being the most notable. That’s because the striker, who lost his title to Manchester United, proved to be out of shape in matches with the Czech Republic and Spain, leaving some good chances to score.
In fact, all over Europe, people doubted that CR7 had completed the Quinas team’s two matches, with former Italian footballer Antonio Cassano suggesting it’s time to retire: “Cristiano should do himself a favor and realize that if you don’t. If you don’t pass a certain level, you have to close the shop. You won everything, it was a phenomenon, but now you have to stop or you will only find the replacement bank.”
Less than two months away from kicking off the World Cup with Ghana (November 24), Ronaldo is experiencing one of the worst moments of his career and his 37-year-old form is already starting to raise many doubts. The criticism is mounting and even Ronaldo’s sister has already come to defend him via social networks: “The Portuguese spit on the plate that they eat, they always have.”
The World Cup in Qatar now appears as a sort of lifeline for Ronaldo, but also for Fernando Santos. After all, a new malfunction must have unforeseen consequences…
Source: DN
