Sports

Fernando Santos steps down as Portugal manager after World Cup exit

Published

2 years ago

December 16, 2022

Fernando Santos has stepped down as manager of Portugal.

Santos famously led Portugal to European Championships success in 2016 and later won UEFA’s inaugural Nations League in 2018-19..

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..

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.