Seriously, could Ronaldo lose his spot for Portugal? Questions over Fernando Santos’ World Cup lineup

Cristiano Ronaldo has scored more goals for his country than anyone else, but he has already been taken off the field by Manchester United.

Fernando Santos recently told reporters, “I started to make a list with 55 names on it. It wasn’t easy, so think about how hard it is to pick 26.” ” Both Portugal and I are having a hard time, which is a good thing.

“It would be bad if we had to choose 26 players from only 20 or so. It’s painful, but in a good way.”

Even more, what hurts your head? Choosing 11 players from the 26 who are going to Qatar in November to start the game.

Figo thinks Ronaldo will be in the best shape for the World Cup.
Former Portugal player Luis Figo is sure that Cristiano Ronaldo will be ready for Qatar 2022.
How people remember Santos as a manager will depend on who he picks for the first team, and there are still many spots up for grabs before the next game. The other two teams in the Nations League are the Czech Republic and Spain.

Portugal’s defense is strong, but the rest of the country is a mess.

Below, GOAL talks about the toughest starting lineup battles for Portugal, including Cristiano Ronaldo’s attempt to end his World Cup career in style.

Santos has been using a three-man central midfield led by a player who stays deep a lot lately. Since William Carvalho switched to a more box-to-box role, Santos has looked at a few options but hasn’t made a final decision yet.

Even though Joao Moutinho has been playing for Wolves for a long time and is in good shape, he was not included in the latest squad. This makes it less likely that he will start in Qatar.

Ruben Neves, Moutinho’s teammate, seems ready to take over based on how Santos has been playing lately. Neves, who is 25, played in all three of Portugal’s June Nations League games. At halftime of the other summer game, he replaced Moutinho. He has become a great playmaker who can ping crazy long balls and hit amazing long shots.

Matheus Nunes of Wolves and Joao Palhinha of Fulham are both good midfielders in their own right, so they will give Neves a lot of competition. Danilo Pereira of Paris Saint-Germain is another option who is good at safer, shorter passing.

Bruno Fernandes, who plays for Manchester United, didn’t do well in Portugal’s last two Euro 2020 games, so he was taken out of the lineup. Since September, he’s had nine starts, which helped Santos bring him back onto the team. That means he will play against Turkey and North Macedonia in the World Cup play-offs. He will probably start against Ghana in the Selecao’s first game in Qatar, but his place in the rest of the tournament will depend on how he does in that game.

Santos sometimes puts a midfielder who is good at winning the ball next to Fernandes to make the team more secure against counterattacks. This is why Bernardo Silva has started next to Fernandes three times in the past year, but he could also be used as a wide attacker instead.

Renato Sanches, a new player for PSG who was already fighting a hard battle to make the team, is out of Portugal’s squad this month because he hurt his adductor. This means that Vitinha, who also plays for PSG, could start in his place.

When Santos picks his lineups after the international break in September, the picture will be much clearer, but for now, Vitinha’s ability to read opponents and make interceptions, as well as his creative skills, make him a high-upside option. Even though he has only played for Portugal three times at the senior level, the 22-year-old summer shows that he’s ready.

If it’s not Vitinha, Carvalho, who has been a fan favorite at Santos for a long time, seems like the most likely choice to play with Fernandes.

As things stand, both Fernandes and Vitinha will start (Bernardo to play in attack)

Whoa, that’s a lot of names! Let’s get rid of some of them to make it easier to deal with.

Goncalo Guedes of Wolves didn’t make the September squad, which was a bit of a surprise. He can’t play against Ghana because of this. This month, his club teammate Pedro Neto was picked over him, but he is still trying to make the World Cup team as he continues to heal from a long injury.

So far this season, Sporting CP’s Pedro Goncalves has helped score nine goals in nine games across all competitions. He is becoming well-known, but right now he is not in the running for the national team.

Joao Felix plays for Atletico Madrid. In 22 games for Portugal’s national team, he has only scored three goals. He is no longer liked by Santos because he doesn’t play the way the manager wants to.

So, AC Milan’s Rafael Leao and Liverpool’s Diogo Jota are the only players who can win the game.

Even though Leao is thought to be the better long-term prospect and has been healthier than Jota during his quick rise, the Reds star is much better under Santos.

In 27 games with the Selecao, Jota has scored nine goals, while Leao hasn’t scored a goal in nine games.

Jota should be the favorite to start until further notice if he stays healthy. But things could soon change.

But in the World Cup qualifying match against Turkey, Otavio scored and helped set up a goal. It was only his third adult game. As a result, Santos put him in the starting lineup for four of the next five games.

This is not about who is the best football player. It all depends on who Santos trusts more, and Otavio has been doing better lately.

The star player for Porto will be very upset that an injury kept him off the team this month and took away his last chance to help Portugal get off to a great start in their first World Cup game.

If Bernardo keeps playing well for Pep Guardiola during the international break, he can make sure he starts up front, assuming he doesn’t play in the middle.

You probably knew what you thought before you got to this part. You think it’s crazy to say that Ronaldo should be kicked off the team, or you think Portugal can’t be at their best without him. Most of the time, CR7’s comments are easy to understand.

So let’s stick to what we already know. Ronaldo, who is 37, is no longer one of Manchester United’s regular starters, even though the team has very few good strikers. Erik ten Hag has shown that Ronaldo isn’t unbeatable. And, to his credit, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner has spent the last few weeks quietly focusing on his new role while Old Trafford cleaned up its early-season mess.

International lineups are usually more emotional, but Santos kept Ronaldo on the bench for a June Nations League game against Spain. After the move, the manager was brave enough to say it had more to do with strategy than fitness.

 “Cristiano Ronaldo?  Many people question why he must speak first. It’s the million dollar question, “Santos said this to the media. “It was a tactical and smart play in this game. That, in our opinion, was the appropriate course to take. We discussed our strategies for the game and how we would play. It has nothing to do with Cristiano’s skill level, which is undeniably excellent.”

Even so, Ronaldo started the next two games, which were against Switzerland and the Czech Republic. During the game against Switzerland, he scored twice.

Most likely, Andre Silva or Felix from RB Leipzig will challenge him for the No. 9 position, unless Santos moves Jota or Leao from their usual wide positions into the middle. Silva has not scored a league goal for his team since May 8. Felix is not a natural striker, so Santos hasn’t started him in over a year. Leao doesn’t play the position very often for his club team. If Jota is healthy, he will move to a different spot in the first-choice formation.

Santos would have to have a very good reason to take off the field one of the best players in history. It would be a decision that could make or break a manager’s career and turn away millions of fans. Even though he seems open to the idea, the other options aren’t enough to make him decide.