After their exit from the World Cup quarter-finals, Portugal have decided to part ways with manager Fernando Santos.
Santos won the European Championships and the Nations League with Portugal during his time in the dugout but it seems that with an incredibly talented squad at his disposal, the Portuguese FA were expecting much better in Qatar.
Santos came under fire during the World Cup for the benching of Cristiano Ronaldo. The manager dropped the forward after his reaction to being substituted in the final group stage game against South Korea, which Portugal lost 2-1.
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Though his replacement Goncalo Ramos scored a hat-trick against Switzerland, he blanked against Morocco and the 37-year-old was brought on at half-time, but he did not change the outcome. Now it seems that Portugal believes someone else should be at the helm.
This could have a knock-on effect for United players Diogo Dalot and Bruno Fernandes as well as Ronaldo.
It seemed in the final two games that Santos had come to the realisation many United fans and Erik ten Hag had; that Ronaldo was a shadow of his former self and no longer the inevitable force he once was upfront. The forward only scored a single goal at the World Cup, a penalty, so the manager must have believed another course of action was needed.
With reports surfacing that Ronaldo wants to continue with the national team until the European Championship in 2024 and the influence he has on the dressing room, you could assume that the next manager they bring in will likely be more willing to work with him.
As their best playmaker, Fernandes will likely still remain a key part of Portugal's plans going forward but the future of Dalot is a little less uncertain. The right-back was one of the team's best performers in Qatar but Joao Cancelo is still waiting in the wings and wants to regain his place.
If the new manager prefers Cancelo it could see Dalot drop back to the bench and lose his starting place which is unfortunate.
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