Portugal national soccer coach Fernando Santos will once again be without superstar Cristiano Ronaldo in his starting XI in the World Cup quarter-finals against Morocco.

The 37-year-old captain is only on the bench at the beginning of the game in the Al-Thumama Stadium, as he was in the 6-1 round of 16 against Switzerland. Santos made one change to his starting XI compared to his best-ever tournament performance against Switzerland. In central defensive midfield, Rúben Neves replaces William Carvalho from Betis Sevilla.

The 21-year-old Gonçalo Ramos starts again in the storm center for superstar Ronaldo. Ramos had scored a hat-trick in his World Cup debut. The Portuguese team is led by substitute captain Pepe, who is playing his fourth World Cup at the age of 39. Central defender Rúben Dias, who was injured recently, also got fit for the game in time. Raphael Guerreiro from Borussia Dortmund is defending again on the left in the back four.

Morocco are without injured defenders Noussair Mazraoui from Bayern Munich and Nayef Aguerd from West Ham United. Abdelhamid Sabiri, who used to play 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.