The answer to all Portuguese football questions is no, not 42 but CR7.

Everything revolves around Cristiano Ronaldo, the number 7, brand name CR7.

As of this week, however, there is a question in Portuguese football that no one has dared to ask for a long time - and the answer to that is even bolder: Is Ronaldo in the starting XI?

Fernando Santos has been the national coach since 2014 and has traditionally accepted it without ever being asked.

But on Tuesday, before the World Cup round of 16 against Switzerland, he said: "Não!".

No!

Tobias Rabe

Responsible editor for Sport Online.

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Ronaldo!

At the World Cup!

In a knockout game!

On the bench!

The excitement was great.

It grew even bigger when Portuguese media reported that captain Ronaldo had threatened immediate departure following coach Santos' decision.

The association even felt compelled to give an official answer to the rumor.

This threat existed "at no time".

Ronaldo will still be in Qatar when Portugal meets Morocco in the quarter-finals this Saturday (4 p.m. CET in the FAZ live ticker for the World Cup, on ZDF and on MagentaTV).

However, it is uncertain whether he will return to the starting XI.

Unlike in all the years, there are not many arguments pro Ronaldo.

The most important argument against Ronaldo is called Ramos.

In world football, the name has long stood for the Spanish "Rambo".

The Portuguese “magician” could soon replace him.

That's the nickname of Gonçalo Matias Ramos.

"I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would start in a knockout game at the World Cup," he said.

And then he scored three goals and an assist in a 6-1 win over Switzerland.

Three goals in the starting eleven debut

At home, the “new Ronaldo” is no stranger.

He was the top scorer at the 2019 European U-19 Championship.

In the A-Team, however, he made his debut just over three weeks ago.

The 21-year-old contributed a goal and an assist in 23 minutes to the 4-0 win over Nigeria.

At the World Cup, Ramos only played a total of ten minutes against Ghana and Uruguay.

Then came the round of 16.

Ramos is the first player since Miroslav Klose in 2002 to score three goals in his World Cup starting XI debut.

Only three other Portuguese have ever scored that many times in a finals match: Eusebio, Pauleta and, of course, Ronaldo.

Anyone who wants to tell the story of Ramos' rise must also name two Germans.

They had great influence, some indirectly, others directly.

Jurgen Klopp has never coached Ramos but he is now coaching a player who once coached with Ramos.

At Benfica, Darwin Núñez was the number one forward, ahead of Ramos.

Klopp chose the Uruguayan, Liverpool FC paid around 75 million euros in the summer.

At the time, Roger Schmidt came to Lisbon as a coach and looked at his remaining forwards.

He liked Ramos.

It was the beginning of a success story.

Benfica have not lost any of their 27 games since the start of the season.

Ramos has scored 14 goals in all competitions and tops the Primeira Liga goalscoring chart.

The best form in the club spoke for the World Cup nomination, even without previous appearances - as with the German Niclas Füllkrug.

Ramos is enthusiastic about Schmidt.

"He's one of the best coaches I've worked under.

He helped me a lot.

I've developed as a player and as a personality," Ramos told the sports daily Record ahead of the World Cup.

In order to understand the Ramos player type, it is enough to listen to his Portuguese teammates.

"He's a player who works a lot, who helps defend very well.

He's the type of striker that can be found anywhere.

He takes part in the game, creates space for teammates, fights for the team," said Bruno Fernandes.

“He has that striker's nose to see where the ball is going to go.

He is a worker trying to do the best for the team.

Gonçalo doesn't look at what's best for him," said Bernardo Silva.

You don't have to take the praise as criticism of Cristiano Ronaldo.

But it can be understood as a hidden criticism of Ronaldo, to whom some of it no longer applies.

Ramos is an enforcer but also a teammate.

Early on, he was compared to Thomas Müller because of his activity.

Ramos liked that.

"I think I have some similarities with him.

He's also a role model.” Karim Benzema as a center forward also comes close to Ramos as a type.

But when asked about his greatest role models, he answered: Robert Lewandowski, Zlatan Ibrahimovic – and Ronaldo.

He only owed one answer.

He didn't want to reveal his favorite song to the reporters because "there are too many forbidden words in it".

Coach Santos doesn't get off that easily when it comes to his side against Morocco.

Everyone is waiting, even the Prime Minister.

"It's easier to form a government than to put together the starting XI," said António Costa.

That's what it's like when suddenly the answer to all Portuguese football questions isn't CR7 anymore.