Credit:Clément Bucco-Lechat, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Portugal has sent Fernando Santos packing as the national football team coach.
The 68-year-old manager led Portugal to the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Qatar but they were eliminated following a shock 1-0 defeat against Morocco last Saturday despite being one of the favourites to win the competition in Qatar.
Santos had a reported falling out with Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo after his decision to drop him for the last-16 clash against Switzerland.
That move was justified as Benfica striker Goncalo Ramos netted a sensational hat-trick in his side’s 6-1 demolition of Switzerland.
He had lost patience with the 37-year-old forward following his negative reaction after being substituted against South Korea during the group stage.
It was first revealed on Wednesday that the Portuguese Football Federation were considering plans to axe the coach following his eight-year stint in charge of the national team.
This led to claims that Ronaldo threatened to storm out of the nation’s World Cup training camp.
Ronaldo debunked the rumour and alleged that “external forces” were trying to “break” the nation’s effort to win their first-ever World Cup.
The PFF has now decided to let the manager go and is now on the hunt for a new head coach ahead of the Euro 2024 campaign, according to football journalist Fabrizio Romano.
Santos, who was appointed to the role in 2014, led the nation to their first ever major international successes, winning the European Championship in 2016 and the inaugural Nations League three years later. He also secured the most victories by a coach in charge of Portugal.
