In a poll conducted by Portuguese outlet A Bola, Portugal fans have voted coach Fernando Santos as the main reason for their team’s shock exit from the World Cup after the 1-0 quarter-final defeat to Morocco.
Given five options over who or what to blame for a strong Portugal squad’s surprise World Cup exit by the outlet, more than half of those Portuguese supporters polled (51.9%) saw Santos as the main reason for the loss. The team’s below par performances drew a little last than a quarter of the vote, accruing 22.3% of the votes, and was the second most popular opinion.
The situation surrounding 37-year-old striker Cristiano Ronaldo, who reportedly caused division within the camp via an explosive interview with Piers Morgan and after reacting angrily to be being subbed against South Korea, got 9.3% of the vote, slightly less than those who saw Morocco as the better team – 9.7%. Perhaps surprisingly, the quality of refereeing finished bottom of the list with just 6.9%.
Morocco now play France on Wednesday in the second semi-final.
GWFN
