Doha (AP) – Portugal national team coach Fernando Santos will once again be without superstar Cristiano Ronaldo in his starting XI in the World Cup quarterfinals against Morocco.
The 37-year-old captain was only on the bench at the start of the match at Al-Thumama Stadium, as he was in the 6-1 round of 16 win against Switzerland. Santos changed his starting XI by one place from the best performance of the tournament so far against Switzerland. In central defensive midfield, Rúben Neves replaces William Carvalho of Betis Sevilla.
21-year-old Gonçalo Ramos starts again in the storm center for superstar Ronaldo. Ramos had scored a hat-trick on his World Cup debut. The Portuguese squad is led by substitute captain Pepe, who is playing in his fourth World Cup at the age of 39. Recently injured centre-back Rúben Dias also recovered in time for the game. Borussia Dortmund’s Raphael Guerreiro defends again down the left in the back four.
Morocco are without injured defenders Noussair Mazraoui of Bayern Munich and Nayef Aguerd of West Ham United. Abdelhamid Sabiri, who played for 1. FC Nürnberg and SC Paderborn and is now under contract with Sampdoria Genoa, is back on the bench. He has a previous yellow card.
