Head coach of Portugal Roberto Martinez has defended his decision to delay the substitution of star player Cristiano Ronaldo in their 2-1 win over Nigeria despite his below par performance, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Martinez made a raft of substitution after the first half, but kept Ronaldo who missed around three chances in the game for over an hour leading to the 41 year old missing more chances.
The coach was asked after the game why the legendary striker was left on the pitch way longer than others, before he was eventually substituted for Goncalo Ramos with 25 minutes left to play in the game.
“The plan we had for Cristiano, based on the information we had, was for him to play 45 or 60 minutes”, he explained.
“The important thing is to work on the individual aspect, but also to have a team capable of finishing the game stronger than it started. This shows good work, focus, and clarity in executing ideas”.
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman
