Portugal legend Luis Figo criticized Fernando Santos for replacing Cristiano Ronaldo at the 2022 World Cup.

Portugal's Luis Figo harshly criticized Fernando Santos for benching Cristiano Ronaldo at the 2022 World Cup. Selecao das Quinas, nicknamed the Portugal national team, had to leave early.

Portugal lost to Morocco with a score of 0-1 in the quarterfinal match, which took place at the Al Thumama Stadium, Doha, on December 10, 2022. The defeat was certainly a heavy blow for the players and supporters of the Portugal National Team.

Moreover, Portugal legend Luis Figo harshly criticized Fernando Santos for benching Cristiano Ronaldo at the 2022 World Cup.

Portugal legend Luis Figo harshly criticizes Fernando Santos for substituting Cristiano Ronaldo at the 2022 World Cup

According to the living legend of Portuguese football, Luis Figo, Fernando Santos, who has handled the Portugal national team since 2014, is fully responsible for this defeat.

His strategy of putting Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench backfired on itself. Previously, in the match between Portugal and Switzerland, Pepe and friends won big with a score of 6-1. At that time, Ronaldo was also backed up and had only started 16 minutes before the end of the game.

"You can't win a football World Cup with Ronaldo on the bench." All right, you won against Switzerland? Good results! But can you do this every game? Not. "Ignoring Ronaldo was a mistake; this defeat rests with the team management and the manager," said Luis Figo at Sports18, as quoted from the Hindustan Times on Monday, December 12, 2022.

After the match ended, Ronaldo looked disappointed and cried over the defeat. Bearing that in mind, the 2022 World Cup could be his last World Cup tournament because he is already 37 years old this year.