- Fernando Sanchez hopes Cristiano Ronaldo does not retire from the national team
- Portugal were knocked out of the competition following a 2-1 loss to Uruguay in Sochi
- Ronaldo who is 33-years of age could call it quits with the Selecao following the loss
Portugal coach Fernando Santos has said he hopes Cristiano Ronaldo will continue with the national team after they crashed out of the World Cup.
Paris Saint-Germain striker Edinson Cavani struck a brace in either side of the match while a Pepe's header was not enough as Uruguay progressed to the quarter-finals with a 2-1 win.
Ronaldo showed flashes of his brilliance but he could not break into the resolute Uruguayan back line.
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The Real Madrid star will be 37 by the time of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar but Santos still hopes to see Ronaldo add to his 154 caps and 85 international goals.
"Cristiano still has a lot to give to football," Santos said.
"There is a UEFA tournament (Nations League) in September and we hope Cristiano will be with us to help the younger ones to grow.
"This growth is natural and we have a team with many young players.
"It's important to have a captain present there and he's always there for us.
"We tried our best, but we're very sad for the Portuguese people that we weren't able to make it."
Santos said despite having a close look at their opponents, it was impossible to legislate for Uruguay's first goal, which saw Luis Suarez find Cavani with an exquisite cross.
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"There was a cross to the left, then a cross to the right - there is no scheme against that,” Santos added.
“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.”
Meanwhile, NAIJ.com had earlier reported that Cristiano Ronaldo's rival Lionel Messi and his teammates crashed out of the World Cup.
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Argentina lost to France in a seven-goal thriller which saw 19-year-old Kylian Mbappe score a brace in the match as it ended 4-3.
Antoine Griezmann and Benjamin Havard scored the two other goals for Les Bleus while Angel Di Maria, Gabriel Mercado and Sergio Aguero got the goals for Jorge Sampaoli's side.
Nigeria VS Argentina. World Cup Showdown | Naij.com TV
Source: Naija.ng
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