Cristiano Ronaldo has been named as a substitute for Portugal’s World Cup quarter-final match against Morocco on Saturday afternoon.
The free agent forward was dropped by Selecao manager Fernando Santos after he reacted angrily to being left out of their final group-stage match against South Korea.
For Portugal’s match against Switzerland in the round of 16, Goncalo Ramos was inserted in place of Ronaldo, and Santos’ choice was a wise one as the 21-year-old scored three goals in a 6-1 victory.
After such a strong performance, Santos has chosen to stick with the starting lineup against the Swiss, making only one adjustment for their quarterfinal matchup with Morocco.
Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves has taken the place of William Carvalho, who controlled play from the centre of midfield. In Ronaldo’s absence, seasoned defender Pepe will continue to lead Portugal.
Joao Cancelo of Manchester City has also been unable to reclaim his spot in the starting lineup. Raphael Guerreiro of Borussia Dortmund and Diogo Dalot of Manchester United have both retained their spots after successful performances against Switzerland.
Portugal XI (4-2-3-1): Costa; Dalot, Pepe, Dias, Guerreiro; Neves, Otavio; Silva, Fernandes, Felix; Ramos
