My FIFA World Cup 2022 Experience: Surely Ronaldo will not start again

Bob Frank, a Doha resident and former sports journalist, continues his daily update of his FIFA World Cup experience

The manner in which Portugal tore Switzerland to pieces at Lusail Stadium last night suggests Cristiano Ronaldo’s international career may be coming to an end.

It had been speculated ahead of the match that Portugal boss Fernando Santos may drop Ronaldo because he was unhappy about the Incredible Sulk’s petulance when being substituted during the 2-1 defeat by South Korea.

I had felt Portugal would still name their iconic skipper, and there were a few gasps in the stadium when the team line-ups were announced, and Benfica striker Goncalo Ramos was named instead of the 37-year-old.

I can’t believe the decision was purely down to disciplinary reasons and feel that if Santos really thought Ronaldo was the man to fire Portugal into the quarter-finals he would have selected him, and found another way to discipline him. Why risk going out of the World Cup just to make a point to a striker whose ego is such that many managers have failed to control him.

Ronaldo’s star has faded and Manchester United decided some time ago they played better without him, and now his national side appear to have come to the same conclusion.

He is still great at free-kicks and is outstanding in the air, but is that enough to keep your place in the side when the likes of Ramos have been banging in the goals at an impressive rate? I would suggest not when he also comes with so much baggage and disrupts the team’s harmony.

A poll before the match suggested 70% of Portuguese fans didn’t want him to be selected, and they got their way, but there were many Ronaldo fans in the stadium last night.

The loudest cheer of the night came when he was brought on with 18 minutes to go, and they had been chanting his name for some time before that. By the time he came on, the match was already won as Portugal led 5-1 against a woeful Swiss (they later added a sixth). If Santos really wanted to make a point, and let Ronaldo know he needs to toe the line, he could have decided not to bring him on at all. But by trying to keep Ronaldo onside, he may just get to see the former Real Madrid and Manchester United star come up with an important goal. On the other hand, maybe we will never see his Siuuu celebration on the international stage again.

He was overshadowed by his replacement last night, Ramos becoming the first player in the tournament to score a hat-trick and surely the 21-year-old will keep his place in the quarter-final against Morocco. I initially thought his opener had gone into the side netting and I feel any keeper who gets beaten from that angle should be disappointing in himself.

The club I support, Newcastle, were heavily linked with Ramos in the summer but his lethal finishing last night has probably now doubled his transfer value.

The crowd came to life whenever Ronaldo got the ball last night, but he didn’t do anything to suggest he should ever start for Portugal again. Ramos should keep the shirt for the rest of this tournament and international retirement should follow after Qatar. If Ronaldo’s ego isn’t prepared to accept he has little to offer at international level, his manager should make the decision for him and leave him out of future squads to allow younger players to develop.

Rafael Leao, a very promising talent who plays for AC Milan, only came on after 87 minutes but had time to find the net, whereas Ronaldo’s only goal of the tournament was a penalty against Ghana.

I was very high up at Lusail last night – in level seven, despite having a category 2 ticket. I am glad I arrived in plenty of time because by time I had climbed the Stairway to Heaven (or stairs to what was almost the Lusail Stadium roof) I was out of breath (not helped by the fact I am currently on antibiotics for a chest infection).

I can only assume category 3 seats were actually on the roof and category 4 were in the car park, but the view was good despite being high up. In a way, I was pleased because if I was near pitch level I was worried I may drown in Ronaldo’s tears following his omission.

My day had started at the Education City Stadium to see Morocco take on Spain with my colleague Faisal. I arrived in good time but twice I found myself stuck in a large group of fans who were not moving. I bumped into a volunteer, Ghenwa, who I have dealt with many times during my role as External Comms Lead at Hamad Bin Khalifa University, and she advised me that the gridlock was actually being caused by people who didn’t have a match ticket (this was a huge match for Morocco and their fans were out in large numbers).

I was advised to go around these fans and try to force my way through, and once reaching the barriers I was asked three times in the space of 10 metres to show my match ticket. Once through the barriers, it was very straightforward to reach the turnstiles and take up our category 1 seats – a rare occasion during this tournament where I have been along a side of the stadium rather than an end and we weren’t too far from the halfway line.

One of my biggest bugbears of fans of Arab football teams is the way they whistle loudly when the opposition has the ball. I’m not a win at all costs man and I like football to be played in a good spirit, but you certainly can’t knock the passion that Moroccans have for their team.

Former World Cup winners Spain were the favourites, but Morocco have done superbly in the tournament so far – topping their group (which included Belgium, who are ranked second in the world) and only conceding one goal.

They were again very tight at the back last night and neither side showed enough flair to win in 90 minutes – which was bad news for me as I hoped to leave around the 85th minute if one side was ahead, to allow me to avoid the mass exodus from the stadium and get on to the metro in good time.

It’s strange how Spain can go from looking one of the best teams in the competition when beating Costa Roca in their opener to a team that never won again before their departure from Qatar.

I don’t think there would have been a goal from open play had they carried on until midnight, so I waited until 90 minutes before leaving, which meant I missed extra-time and penalties.

Not surprisingly, there were only a few other fans leaving but I got a slight scare when a policemen started closing an outer exit gate as I approached. Thankfully I managed to get through and I then noticed a large gathering of Moroccan fans outside, so maybe there were security concerns they might try to storm inside for extra-time.

A few people were watching extra-time and then penalties on their phones on the metro and the winning spot-kick was converted just as we pulled into Lusail Stadium, sparking huge celebrations on the platform from Moroccan fans rejoicing in becoming the Arab team to reach a World Cup quarter-final.

I got home around 2am, so today was a bit tiring as it was my first day back at work with there being no matches on.