Portugal boss Fernando Santos will not leave his post before the World Cup play-offs next March, according to reports, despite his captain Cristiano Ronaldo being visibly furious with his manager after their dismal 2-1 loss to Serbia.
Their hopes of reaching Qatar next year now hang by a thread after blowing the chance to finish top of a relatively unchallenging group featuring Serbia, Ireland, Luxembourg & Azerbaijan - heaping pressure on Santos.
But the 67-year-old will not be going anywhere before the team have a chance to redeem themselves in the play-offs, claims Portuguese outlet A Bola, with their front page reading 'Fernando Santos Seguro' - meaning 'safe'.
It adds that the manager's position 'is not at risk' and that 'he will guide Portugal in the play-offs', saying that the Portuguese FA 'maintain confidence in the coach to lead the national team to the World Cup'.
Meanwhile, another Portuguese paper Record suggests Santos' methods are 'outdated' and says his players are 'tired' but also believe he will stay put.
Immediately after the full time whistle was blown against Serbia, Santos' relationship with Ronaldo looked strained as he went to shake the Man United star's hand, only for the star forward to fume at him.
He looked frustrated and animated - gesticulating furiously with his arms towards him, with Santos then walking past him to embrace other players.
The former Real Madrid and Juventus star then puts his hands on his hips before making his way towards the other players and the tunnel with his dejection still clear for all to see.
Santos was critical of his players after the defeat, claiming they 'played with fear and anxiety', risking the wrath of Ronaldo by insisting that Bernardo Silva was 'the only one' who wanted the ball.
'It looked like it was going to be, but it wasn't,' he said. 'We scored the goal, we had the initial moments. But then we started to drop deep a lot.
'The players tried. But then we didn't turn the game on. Every time we did, we created problems. But most of the time we couldn't.
'Serbia were better. We tried. Our DNA is to have the ball on our feet and play. Bernardo Silva wanted the ball, but he was the only one.
'We played with fear and anxiety. It's my responsibility.'
Portugal will discover their opponents for the two-legged draw in March on November 26. They will be seeded for the draw, which will also feature Sweden, Wales, Czech Republic, Russia, Scotland, Armenia, North Macedonia and four other sides vying to reach Qatar.
ForcaGoa
93
Bad times or Good times I am always with you.. My Inspiration - Cristano Ronaldo πππππ
MichaelFrolian
65
MESSI "Portugal must qualify ,or I retire"π
MichaelFrolian
55
CR7 trying to reach world cup 2022πππ
Emmyjrs
51
Wait a Minute.. Is that not the same Coach that Won the Euros with Portugal without Ronaldo.?? and now just because Portugal didn't win, they are blaming the Coach. but when Portugal win nobody gives the coach any Credit.. it's always Ronaldo who takes all the credit for his team Glory.. Why..???
tenbkot
28
If u disrespect your coach you should be dropped Ronaldo
Sonlove23
25
It is funny when the team plays bad they blame coach and if they play well he will get all the praise. During Euro 2016 he was incredibly anonymous until he was injured and replaced then when Elder scored the winning goal he was praised for cheerleading the team to victory, Juventus was winning their league every season in fact before season starts you know Juventus are champions, they reached Champions league finals 2 times too until he came and they started losing and playing for him. Suddenly the manager became bad and was replaced, still they replaced another because no one can win a big match playing minus one, how can you go high up the pitch at opponent side waiting for pass or crossing to score goal without doing anything else? You team is already minus one because you are not useful to them yet all this managers are forced to fit him in and make sure the team play for him if you can't do it you are bad and get sacked.