A big surprise in Portugal’s starting eleven in the Nations League against Scotland at the Da Luz stadium in Lisbon. Roberto Martinez, Portuguese coach, has left the great captain on the bench from the beginning Cristiano Ronaldo forks Diogo Jota, Liverpool striker, occupying his place in front of the attack.
This is the first time Robert Martinez let Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench in an official match since he took charge in January 2023. In fact, the Portuguese star has always been a starter since December 2022. So Fernando Santos He was only allowed in the second half in the same round of 16 against Switzerland (6-1) and the quarterfinals against Morocco (1-0 loss).
Roberto Martínez’s motives
Before the match against Scotland, Robert Martinez denied that the replacement of Cristiano Ronaldo is due to a physical problem. “It was a technical decision. I wanted to distribute the effort in this format of playing two games in 72 hours. Cristiano was the player who made the most sprints against Croatia and it was just a matter of protecting the player and having an option on the bench.”
Robert Martinez He continued analyzing his decision: “With the five substitutions, there is a starting eleven, but there is also a final eleven. Now the important thing is to win three points. If I talked to Cristiano? He is our captain and he knows he means a lot to us. It is also important to manage the effort. We have four new players in the lineup, including two who played 45 minutes. In this competition, it is important to manage your effort well. “Cristiano played a great game against Croatia and it’s important to protect him.”
cristiano ronaldo, who on Thursday achieved Portugal’s victory over Croatia with the 900th goal of his career (2-1), didn’t seem affected by the change in the run-up to the match, although internally he didn’t like to see himself on the bench.
So, on Monday, at the beginning of the concentration, the Cristiano Ronaldo He assured in a press conference that “I will always think that I will be a starter, but I will always respect the coach. As long as there are professional ethics, I will respect the coaches. If there are no ethics, then there may be controversy .”
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
