Ronaldo Benched Again As Portugal Face Morocco In World Cup Quarter Final
Cristiano Ronaldo will be on the bench again when Portugal plays Morocco in the World Cup quarterfinals on Saturday.
Fernando Santos left the five-time Ballon d’Or winner off the team that beat Switzerland in the round of 16 and kept the same lineup against North Africa.
Goncalo Ramos, who scored a hat trick in the 6-1 win, is at the top of the line again. Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, and Joao Felix are behind him.
William Carvalho is replaced by Ruben Neves in the defensive midfield, which is the only change for Santos. Joao Cancelo, a defender for Manchester City, stays on the bench with Ronaldo.
Morocco has had to make two changes to their defense because Nayef Aguerd and Noussair Mazraoui are both injured and can’t play.
In place of the West Ham player, Jawad El Yamiq plays center back, and Yahya Attiat-Allah plays left back in place of the Bayern Munich player.
Morocco keeps the same midfield and attack that helped them beat Spain in the last 16 and make it to the quarterfinals for the first time in their history.
The starting lineups for Saturday’s (16:00) World Cup quarter-final between Morocco and Portugal at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha:
