Roberto Martinez explains why he took Cristiano Ronaldo off with Portugal level against Croatia

Cristiano Ronaldo was key to Portugal’s impressive comeback to beat Croatia 2-1, scoring his team’s opening goal from the penalty spot and rewriting World Cup history with two record-breaking feats along the way.

However, with the match still level, coach Roberto Martinez surprisingly decided to substitute the Portuguese captain with ten minutes plus stoppage time still to play.

Asked directly about the substitution during his press conference, and whether it signals a growing role for Goncalo Ramos, Martinez explained the tactical reasoning behind the decision in detail.

“Goncalo Ramos is a player who always adds something when he comes on, like Bernardo Silva and Conceicao. It is important to start well and finish even better. We took a big risk by playing with two strikers, but then we needed an extra midfielder, so we took off Cristiano,” the Spanish coach explained.

The Portuguese captain left the pitch in the 81st minute to make way for Ruben Neves, bringing on a holding midfielder to help provide extra defensive cover as Croatia were reaching Diogo Costa’s box more frequently.

A substitution that paid off

Martinez’s explanation points to a broader tactical shift rather than any dip in Ronaldo’s performance, who had just scored the equalizing penalty moments before being withdrawn.

With Croatia controlling large spells of possession, the Portugal manager opted to reinforce his midfield rather than stick with two out-and-out strikers, a call that was vindicated when Ramos rose to head home the stoppage-time winner off a Rafael Leao cross.

The move also raises questions about how Martinez manages his front line heading into the decisive Round of 16 clash against Spain on July 6 at Dallas Stadium.

It’s highly likely that Ronaldo will continue as a starter, but the question is whether Ramos would come in as a second striker, or whether the Spanish coach decides to stick with a single center-forward and two wide players like Rafael Leao and Pedro Neto instead.