Fernando Santos addressed his judgment to start Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench for Portugal versus Andorra.
The decision to start Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench against Andorra was defended by Fernando Santos, Portugal’s head coach, claiming the player will still break the record for foreign goals.
In a friendly in Lisbon on Wednesday, Ronaldo came on at half-time and scored as Portugal thrashed Andorra 7-0.
“When it comes to the idea that Cristiano Ronaldo must play [against Andorra] to score goals and break the record, well, Ronaldo does not need to score against Andorra to become the top scorer. He will be anyway,” he told a news conference.
“Therefore, he came on as a substitute and played for long enough. It’s important to understand that Ronaldo didn’t play a game for 19 days during his lockdown. He’s one of the players who need some minutes to get a competitive rhythm.”
“I didn’t think it was right to put him on early in the game. Andorra was playing in the last 20 meters of the pitch just defending and tackling. It could be dangerous for us. We must look carefully at every situation.”
“Anyway, I am not sure if Ronaldo was anxious to play. Every player always wants to score goals, that’s for sure.”
