A poll on whether Gonçalo Ramos should start Portugal’s quarter-finals ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo is underway in the Portuguese media.
Portuguese news outlet a Bola is publishing its daily sports poll and today’s topic is the decision that Fernando Santos has in front of him after Portugal’s resounding victory last night.
Santos opened the untested Ramos last night against national hero Cristiano Ronaldo, a decision that carried great risk.
It turned out to be an inspired call; Ramos opened the scoring and then scored a wonderful hat-trick as Portugal demolished Switzerland 6 goals to one.
It wasn’t just the goals that stood out, the relentless run of the young Benfica was the foil for Santos’ men to produce one of the tournament’s performances.
It has led to Portuguese fans in no doubt who should start up front against Croatia in the next round.
The poll has been over 90% in favor of Ramos all day and he is not expected to fall with Ronaldo firmly out of favor after his petulance when he was substituted in the final group game against South Korea.
This is becoming an all too familiar sentiment for Ronaldo, whose messy end to his Manchester United career included similar acts of disrespect towards his boss and teammates.
Despite his ridiculous 118 goals for his country, the Portuguese public clearly feels that the team works better without him in the side.
The move and link-up in the Portugal side was terrifying last night, a performance that marked their arrival at the tournament and underlined their credentials as potential winners.
It would be another brave call from Santos to leave Ronaldo out of the eleven against Morocco, given his pedigree and impact in the dressing room.
However, last night’s performance coupled with the backing of the Portuguese fans, CR7 may have to settle for a secondary role in the rest of the tournament with Portugal looking much more fluid without the aging superstar leading the line.
