Fernando Santos has left his role as Portugal coach following the team’s quarter-final exit at the Qatar World Cup, the Portuguese federation (FPF) announced Thursday.
Santos, 68, took over in 2014 and led Portugal to their first senior international title, defeating France in the Euro 2016 final. The former Greece national team boss also captained the Seleccao to a UEFA Nations League victory in 2019.
However, a shocking 1-0 loss to Morocco in Qatar marked the end of his career. He was under contract until the Euro 2024.
According to a statement from the FPF, “The Portuguese Football Federation and Fernando Santos agreed to end the highly successful journey that began in September 2014.”
“After one of the best participations ever by the National Team in the final stages of the World Cup, in Qatar, FPF and Fernando Santos understand that this is the right time to start a new cycle.
“The FPF Board will now begin the process of choosing the next national coach.”
Santos said in an emotional video message that being Portugal’s coach was a “dream come true” and a “life goal” he fulfilled.
Um 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗱𝗼 histórico. 🏆🏆 Obrigado por tudo, Mister. 🇵🇹 #VesteABandeira
A historical 𝗟𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗰𝘆. 🏆🏆 Thank you for everything, Coach. 🇵🇹 #WearTheFlag pic.twitter.com/7emUN6LbZB
— Portugal (@selecaoportugal) December 15, 2022
“When you lead groups, you have to make some difficult decisions,” he added. “It’s normal that not everyone was happy with the choices I made but the decisions I took were always thinking about what would be best for our team.”
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Santos’ decision, which came after Ronaldo showed visible anger at being removed in the previous game against South Korea, was validated when replacement Goncalo Ramos scored a hat trick in a 6-1 win.
Santos again started with Ronaldo on the bench against Morocco before putting him on early in the second half as Portugal shockingly fell out.
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