Santos wants more from Ronaldo

Portugal fell to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Uruguay on Saturday, bringing an end to their hopes of winning a World Cup on the back of an European Championship. The loss meant that both Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo exited the tournament on the same day, and a lot of people speculated that this would be the last time we see either of the stars at a World Cup. 

Ronaldo is 33, meaning that by the next World Cup he will be 37, bringing his international future into doubt. However, the Real Madrid forward, who has 154 caps and 85 international goals for Portugal, famously has a biological age much younger than his true age, and head coach Fernando Santos would like him to carry on.

"Certainly, yes, Cristiano still has a lot to give to football," he said when asked about Ronaldo after the game. "There is a tournament in September, the UEFA (Nations League) and we hope he will be with us to help the younger ones to grow."

Santos believes that Ronaldo's experience can help the younger players in the squad. "We have a team with many young players," he explained. "Of course we all want him there with us."

Reflecting on the game itself, he apologised to the fans back home. "We know that in Portugal, the squares are full, the people are together and rooting for us and we feel their presence here, so a word to the Portuguese people - we are very sad that we weren't able to make it," he stated.

He credited Uruguay for their first goal, calling it an 'incredible play'. "There was a cross to the left, then a cross to the right - there is no scheme against that," he said. "Their strikers were very strong; one was there, the other one came from behind. That was an incredible play, they have never scored like that before."

"We know that they were tight in the midfield, so we had some players playing wide to try to unblock the Uruguay defence. In the first half we did it less well. In the second we were better, but we didn't make it."