Portugal manager Fernando Santos was immensely criticized for benching superstar Cristiano Ronaldo in the crucial match but had a two-word reply for the critics after the heartbreaking World Cup exit.  Santos did not feel Cristiano’s importance, as all the fans and cheers of "Don" felt in his last World Cup match against Morocco. For the second match in a row, Santos continued his stubbornness with Ronaldo and decided not to push him in the starting line-up for Brazil in Europe against Morocco in the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Qatar. But when he felt in danger he pushed him at the beginning of the second half to avoid the anger of the fans.

Ronaldo was absent from the starting line-up against Portugal before coach Santos call him to warm up to rescue the situation but it was too late and to no avail. The result remained the same, ending with the victory of the Atlantic Lions 1-0, which they scored while Ronaldo was on the bench!
But the consequence was that Portugal became the latest victim of Morocco's dream run at the 2022 FIFA World Cup as they were stunned in the quarter-final tie on Saturday at the Al Thumama Stadium in Doha. 
Now the question after Portugal's exit fully might relate to the extent of the impact of Ronaldo's absence from the starting line-up in the Morocco battle. Will Rolando will change the scene from the beginning if he was added in the squad?
But on the other hand, Portugal did not appear well-known in front of Switzerland because the latter was a modest competitor much less than Morocco. When Ronaldo substituted, nothing was changed in the pitch and Portugal remained playing in a sterile manner that made the task of Morocco's defense easy, especially with the brilliance of goalkeeper Bono.
When asked after the World Cup exit if he regretted the decision to bench Ronaldo, the Portuguese Santos said, “No, I don’t think so, no regrets.

“I think this was a team that played very well against Switzerland. Cristiano Ronaldo is a great player, he came in when we thought it was necessary, so no regrets.”
Even if Ronaldo is not ready to play, neither physically nor mentally, due to his status in his club Manchester United, which ended with the termination of his contract. the presence of Ronaldo on the pitch can create spaces for other players in the Portuguese team due to the opponent's coach being forced to monitor him with more than one player.
Ronaldo can make more than one player monitor him during the match, and this is what Walid Regragui did in the second half after Ronaldo came down, by substituting Ashraf Dari and Badr Bannon, along with veteran midfielder Badr Bannon.
But this scenario never took place, and the Moroccan qualified at the expense of Portugal and honoring Arab football with an unprecedented achievement.
As for Ronaldo, the year 2022 will remain firmly in his memory as the worst year in his football career, with the difficult situations he faced that were disturbed by events and lost his serenity and his normal daily life.