World Cup: Figo blast Santos for leaving Chelsea target on the bench

Portugal legend, Luis Figo, has slammed the country’s national team head coach Fernando Santos for benching captain Cristiano Ronaldo following the team’s exit from the 2022 FIFA World Cup on Saturday.

Figo, who was one of the star players during the 2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cup tournaments, said Santos cannot win the World Cup, leaving Ronaldo on the bench, adding that the manager made a mistake.

This comes as Santos benched Ronaldo for the second time as Morocco defeated Portugal in the World Cup quarter-final tie at the weekend in Qatar.

While Ronaldo had started all three of Portugal’s group-stage games, the 37-year-old was left out of the starting XI against Switzerland in the last 16 as 21-year-old Goncalo Ramos replaced him.

During the game against Morocco, the Blues’ target was introduced just six minutes after the commencement of the second half, but Morocco was leading through a 42nd-minute goal from Youssef En-Nessyri as the match eventually ended 1-0.

“You can’t win the World Cup with Cristiano on the bench. Leaving Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench was a mistake. This defeat is the responsibility of Fernando Santos,” Figo was quoted by Sportskeeda as saying.