Portugal coach Fernando Santos has lamented the elimination of his team in the second round of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, while expressing his wish that the reigning European champions continue to be led by Cristiano Ronaldo, “who still has a lot to give to football”.
“I am convinced that he has a lot to give to football, there is a tournament in September, the league of UEFA nations and we hope he is with us to help the young people, who need the example of the captain,” he said of the 31-year-old superstar after Portugal’s loss on Saturday, reports Efe.
Edinson Cavani scored in the seventh and 62nd minutes while Portugal got their goal from Pepe in the 55th minute at the Fisht Stadium as Uruguay entered the last eight stage of the World Cup only for the second time in 48 years.
The coach said Ronaldo knows how to play as a team and that no player can win a single game.
“I want to thank the players for their delivery, we did our best, but there is no moral victory, only the points victory and I have to congratulate Uruguay,” he said.
“Uruguay scored two goals and we only scored one. We can not say that we made mistakes. We knew they were playing well, we were prepared to face them, we knew they were good in midfield, we tried to beat them back in the first half, we did it well.
“In the second we had more success, we had two very good chances but we did not achieve it,” he said.