We hope Cristiano will be with us – Santos wants Portugal captain Ronaldo to play on

Fernando Santos insists Cristiano Ronaldo still has a lot to give to Portugal following Saturday’s World Cup exit to Uruguay.

Ronaldo and European champions Portugal were sent packing from the showpiece tournament in Russia after suffering a 2-1 last-16 defeat to Uruguay at Fisht Stadium.

An Edinson Cavani brace eliminated Ronaldo’s Portugal on the same day Lionel Messi and Argentina crashed out in Kazan.

After the showdown in Sochi, attention immediately turned to 33-year-old Ronaldo and his future with the national team.

Asked about Ronaldo in his post-match news conference, Portugal head coach Santos told reporters: “Ronaldo still has a lot to give and to football. 

“There is a tournament in September – UEFA [Nations League]. We hope Cristiano will be with us to help the young players grow. 

“We have a team of many young players. It’s important to have a captain there and he is always there for us.”

Ronaldo, who finished with four goals in four games, attempted six shots without success as his record without scoring in the World Cup knockout phase continued in Sochi – where he hit a group-stage hat-trick against Spain.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner is in the midst of a six-game scoreless streak after the group stage of the tournament.

“He did what he does usually,” Santos said. “The team didn’t win because Uruguay scored twice. Usually we always score and if we had done what we usually do with a clean sheet… but that didn’t happen.”

Ronaldo has drawn level with Germany icon Bastian Schweinsteiger, whose 38 appearances in European Championships and World Cups is more than any other player.

And despite Portugal’s disappointment, Santos believes his team could not have given anything more against a Uruguay side that had kept six clean sheets in their 2018 fixtures.

“Congratulations to Uruguay,” Santos said. “It’s very sad for Portugal. We know that in Portugal the [public] squares are full. The people are really together supporting us. We are very sad that we weren’t able to progress. Our sadness in the dressing room, mine too. There’s no moral victory in football.

“I would rather win and maybe played less well. It would have been more important for us. That’s not how it happened. I thank my players, what they did in the second half was really good in terms of desire. They were trying to create and score. We were playing hard. We tried our best.”