Portugal boss Fernando Santos ‘to be sacked’ after World Cup quarter-final exit and Cristiano Ronaldo bust-up
PORTUGAL’s Euro 2016-winning boss, Fernando Santos, is set to be sacked after the World Cup quarter-final exit to Morocco, a report says.
Santos, 68, headed into the winter tournament with one of the strongest 26-man squads.
Santos faces the sack after Portugal’s early World Cup exitGetty
ReutersThe boss made a brave call to bench out-of-form Ronaldo[/caption]
However, a lacklustre group stage campaign, which saw a 2-1 loss to South Korea, prompted the manager to drop 819 career-goal forward, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Replacement Goncalo Ramos stepped up and fired Portugal into the quarters, netting a hat-trick in the 6-1 win over Switzerland.
But Portugal’s free-scoring fun was stopped by a resolute Morocco, who went on to win the game 1-0 and became the first African country to make the semi-finals.
And according to Goal, the historic loss to Morocco has cost Santos his job.
The Portuguese Football Federation are set to end his eight-year stint in charge of the national team and Lille’s Paulo Fonseca is favourite to replace him.
Fonseca isn’t the only name in the running for the job.
Legendary manager and current Roma boss, Jose Mourinho, has also been linked with the post.
Fonseca only joined Lille in the summer and has a contract in France until 2024.
BETTING SPECIAL – BEST WORLD CUP BETTING OFFERS AND FREE BETS
However, the 49-year-old could be tempted by the national team role.
Fonseca has close ties to the Portuguese Football Federation.
His wife, Katerina, became ambassador of an FPF project supporting the hosting, integration and employment of Ukrainian refugees.
Fonseca’s attacking style of play would also please Portugal fans.
