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Portugal star Bernardo Silva has come to Cristiano Ronaldo's defense, saying that the legendary forward will not cause any rift inside the dressing room and insisted that the skipper showed a 'great personality'.
Ronaldo was dropped from their starting lineup for A Selecao's Round of 16 clash with Switzerland on Tuesday and the side romped to a 6-1 victory, regardless.
The former Real Madrid icon only came on in the 73rd minute and had the ball in the back of the net once but was ruled out for offside.
Having cut a visibly disappointed figure on the bench, he was later seen going off the pitch before all his teammates at full-time.
Silva, however, doesn't believe Ronaldo will cause any rift inside Portugal's dressing room. Speaking to the press ahead of their clash, he said (via Sports Mole):
"I don't think so. I think he is helping us. Today he showed a great personality inside the dressing room, and he was fine.
"Of course, sometimes he might not be happy because everyone wants to play. But he helped us a lot in his role and his attitude was great."
Ronaldo has been admittedly disappointing at the 2022 FIFA World Cup so far, looking well below his best. His only meaningful contribution till now has been a penalty in their 3-2 group win over Ghana.
What must have truly been humiliating was his inclusion in SofaScore's worst XI of the group stages, something that was a huge topic of discussion online.
At 37, this is most likely his last FIFA World Cup with Portugal and Ronaldo is running out of time to make his mark and salvage it.
Portugal face Morocco in a tricky 2022 FIFA World Cup quarter-final
Portugal face Morocco at the Al Thumama Stadium on Saturday in the quarter-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in a treacherous clash.
A Selecao may seem like the favorites on paper, but the Atlas Lions have been no pushover by any means in the tournament.
The north African side topped Group F ahead of European heavyweights Croatia and Belgium before knocking out Spain in the last-16 on penalties.
Walid Regragui's side also haven't conceded a goal to any of their opponents, with the only strike they have shipped in so far being an own goal.
Portugal obviously have more quality in their ranks, but it will be interesting to see if Morocco continue their fairytale run by pulling off another upset.
