Portugal SACK Fernando Santos after shock World Cup quarter-final exit against Morocco after dropping Cristiano Ronaldo for younger stars… with Paulo Fonseca tipped to replace the Euro 2016 and Nations League winner
Portugal have sacked Fernando Santos as their national team coach.
The 68-year-old manager led Portugal to the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Qatar before crashing out of the tournament following a shock 1-0 defeat against Morocco last Saturday.
Santos famously led Portugal to European Championships success in 2016 and later won UEFA’s inaugural Nations League in 2018-19.
Portugal have sacked manager Fernando Santos after his side’s shock quarter-final elimination
Morocco produced one of the upsets of the tournament to knock Portugal out with a 1-0 win
Sportsmail 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.
The PFF have now decided to let the manager go and are now on the hunt for a new head coach ahead of the Euro 2024 campaign, according to football journalist Fabrizio Romano.
Santos boldly chose to drop Portuguese icon Cristiano Ronaldo ahead of his side’s last-16 clash against 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. Following his sacking, Ronaldo and nine other Portugal players have not thanked Santos for his tenure – despite winning the Euros together in 2016.
The head coach dropped Portuguese icon Cristiano Ronaldo midway through the tournament
The 68-year-old coach led Portugal to their first ever major tournament success at Euro 2016
The decision ultimately paid off as replacement striker Goncalo Ramos, of Benfica, netted a hat-trick on his first World Cup start for Portugal, steering his team to a rampant 6-1 win.
Portugal’s attacking prowess showed in that match indicated for many fans that the era of Ronaldo in attack is over – and PFF chiefs clearly feel Santos’ time is up as well.
They came up short against a stubborn Atlas Lions side, losing 1-0 to a Youssef En-Nesyri header after goalkeeper Diogo Costa’s mistake.
The country is not short of possible contenders for the role, with former Chelsea, Manchester United and Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho and ex-Porto and Roma manager Paulo Fonseca, currently at Lille, among the names being mentioned.
Mourinho has already been linked with the post, while Fonseca is also a leading candidate for the PFF. Both are Portuguese.