Portugal's national soccer coach Fernando Santos will initially do without his superstar Cristiano Ronaldo in the World Cup round of 16 against Switzerland.

The captain initially sits on the bench in the game at Lusail Stadium. The day before, Santos had publicly criticized Ronaldo for his behavior when he was substituted in the game against South Korea when the 37-year-old left the pitch cursing. Ronaldo is also playing a weak tournament in Qatar, has one goal and no assists yet. The debates about his club search also overshadow Portugal's previous tournament.

For the superstar, Santos brings 21-year-old Gonçalo Ramos from the start. In addition, the 68-year-old largely trusts the eleven again, who made the round of 16 participation perfect in the first two games. The attacking forces Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva, who had recently been given a break, play again from the start. Dortmund's Raphael Guerreiro starts again as left-back.

There are two changes for the Swiss compared to the 3-2 win in the last group game against Serbia: Gladbach's Yann Sommer returns to the goal after a cold instead of Dortmund's Gregor Kobel. In addition, defensive man Edimilson Fernandes starts instead of his Mainz club colleague Silvan Widmer, who is missing with a cold.