Fernandes: 'Ronaldo can score three goals if he starts'

"Do you think someone likes to be on the bench?", Fernandes told Sky Sports (England) after the match at Lusial Stadium on the evening of December 6, when asked about the captain's striker Ronaldo starting on the bench. "I don't think Cristiano is happy with that. If the coach puts me on the bench next game, I will be upset too. We won the first two games, when Cristiano started. And if Ronaldo comes on from the start. In this game, he can score three goals and then no one will talk about Cristiano as a substitute."

Yesterday was the first match Ronaldo had to start on the bench at the 2022 World Cup, even the first time at a major Portuguese tournament since 2008. In the group stage, the 37-year-old striker scored a goal from the penalty spot in the opening match against Ghana 3-2. "I don't think people should keep talking about Cristiano, and why he doesn't start. Because, when Cristiano plays and the team wins, nobody talks about it. When Cristiano plays and the team loses, Everyone talks about him. He is the most famous player in the world. No one is more famous than Cristiano, not only in football but in every other sport."

This match, the 21-year-old player replaced Ronaldo as the main kick, Goncalo Ramos scored a hat-trick, while Pepe, Guerreiro and Leao scored the remaining three goals to help Portugal win the biggest difference in the round of 16. 74 minutes, after leading 5-1, coach Ferrnando Santos just launched Ronaldo to replace Joao Felix.

When answering A Bola (Portugal), Fernandes still holds the same opinion. "Even the 17-year-old doesn't like to be on the bench, so imagine a player who has achieved everything and is as ambitious as Cristiano. That is a question you have to ask him. I cannot answer. instead," he added.

According to Fernandes, the most important thing is Ronaldo's reaction when entering the field. The Portugal midfielder and Man Utd also think that the goals of the players are the same, including Ronaldo. "We want to reach the semi-finals. We have one game left to get there," said Fernandes.

In the early stages of the 2022-2023 season at Man Utd, Ronaldo had to start on the bench many matches. Therefore, he publicly criticized the club and coach Erik Ten Hag in an interview with MC Piers Morgan, leading to the termination of his contract with the Old Trafford team six months ahead of time.

Regarding the strong victory over Switzerland, Fernandes said that Portugal made good use of opportunities as well as pre-match preparations, even though Switzerland played a good match.

Thanks to three goals against Switzerland, Ramos became the youngest Portuguese player to score in the knockout stages of the World Cup, surpassing the 24-year-old milestone of the legendary Eusebio. The 21-year-old striker also became the first player in the world to score a hat-trick in the knockout stages of a World Cup since Tomas Skuhravy in 1990, and the first player to score a hat-trick in his first World Cup start. Cup since Miroslav Klose in 2002.

Fernandes commented: "If Ramos doesn't play well, no one is good. I think I can't ask for more from a player just starting his career. We are happy for him and also because he helped us overcome Thuy. Si".

In the quarter-finals, Portugal will meet Morocco - the team that caused many surprises in this year's tournament, topping the group containing Belgium and Croatia, before eliminating Spain with a 3-0 victory in the penalty shootout in the final round. 1/8. According to Fernandes, Morocco is rich in competition, aggression, speed, personality and technique. He said: "We have to prepare and focus on what we can do. If we are in our best form, we will have all the conditions to win."

Another Portuguese player, Bernardo Silva also said that Morocco is not a weak team in the quarter-finals on December 10. The Man City midfielder pointed out that Spain lost even when considered stronger than the African team. "Morocco plays very aggressively. They are different from the defensive style of Switzerland," Silva commented.