Fernando Santos has stepped down from his position as full-time manager of the Portugal national team after his side was eliminated from the World Cup.
Santos took charge of the team eight years ago, he helped guide the side to glory at the European championships in 2016 and also won the first-ever Nations League in 2019.
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But a calamitous 2022 World Cup campaign has forced him to step away from the position.
🚨 𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗜𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟: Portugal have announced that Fernando Santos has left his position as head coach. 🇵🇹
(🎥 @selecaoportugal) pic.twitter.com/ONWeWyT543
— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) December 15, 2022
From the outside looking in you might think that Portugal had a somewhat decent tournament, a quarter-final is respectable. But it was the manner of the defeat and the circus around it which upset so many.
Portugal were eliminated by Morocco, a team that nobody had expected to get out of the group stages never mind go all the way to the final. Santos was also brave enough to drop Cristiano Ronaldo, a decision which had him constantly under the spotlight.
In a statement released on Thursday, the Portugal Football Association said:
“The FPF thanks Fernando Santos and his technical team for the services provided over eight unique years and believes that this thanks is also made on behalf of the Portuguese people.
“The FPF Board will now start the process of choosing the next national coach.”
Names of potential new managers are already beginning to circulate with the likes of Jose Mourinho being thrown in the mix.