Portugal fans on Twitter livid as Fernando Santos benches attacker for UEFA Nations League clash against Spain: "Letting my country down as always","I hate it here"

Portugal fans online are not happy with manager Fernando Santos leaving forward Rafael Leao on the bench for the UEFA Nations League game against Spain on Tuesday (September 27). The manager has instead decided to go for an attacking trio comprising of Cristiano Ronaldo, Diogo Jota and Bernardo Silva.

Selecao's starting XI for their game against Spain can be seen below:

Back to business 💼 𝟙𝟙 no relvado, 𝟙𝟙 Milhões a apoiar! 🇵🇹 #VesteABandeira

𝟙𝟙 at the pitch, 𝟙𝟙 Million supporting! 🇵🇹 #WearTheFlag https://t.co/tytwadoVnY

Selecao fans on Twitter voiced their disporval of the starting XI as many of them wanted to see Leao feature in the attack. The AC Milan forward had a decent outing against the Czech Republic last time around where the Euro 2016 winners secured a 4-0 victory.

Leao started the game against the Czech Republic and provided an assist for Diogo Dalot's opening goal of the game.

Santos, however, has instead decided to go with Diogo Jota in attack. The Liverpool forward scored against the Czechs last time around which could be the reason for his inclusion.

Portugal fans, however, believe Leao is a much better individual player compared to Jota and therefore warranted a place in the starting XI. Some fans have once again questioned Santos' team selection on Twitter.

Here are a few tweets in that regard:

@selecaoportugal Jota over Leao lmaoooo Dog Santos is finished

Why dont we start Vitinha and Leao on the bench for Jota una Santos letting my country down as always

Vitinha and Leão benched, Jota LW and Bernardo RW, when he’s better centrally, I hate it here… twitter.com/b24pt/status/1…

@selecaoportugal Carvalho ffs

Play Vitinha, Félix or Leao

Leao and Felix on the bench while Ronaldo playing 🤣🤣🤣

@pnh28 Leao is individually better. Decent while playing for Portugal

@selecaoportugal No leao?.. this coachhh... what are u doing?

Portugal have just a couple of games remaining before they head to Qatar to compete at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. have been drawn alongside Ghana, Uruguay and South Korea in Group H of the tournament.

Selecao begin their World Cup campaign against African giants Ghana on November 24 at Doha.

How has Portugal forward Rafael Leao performed for AC Milan this season?

Rafael Leao has had a stellar start to the 2022-23 season with Serie A champions AC Milan. The Portugal international has contributed three goals and six assists from eight outings across all competitions.

Leao had one of his best games of the season against city rivals Inter Milan earlier this month. The forward went on to score a brace and even provided an assist as AC Milan secured a dramatic 3-2 win over their rivals.

The Portuguese forward is yet to score in the UEFA Champions League this season. He did, however, provide two assists as AC Milan secured a 3-1 win over Dinamo Zagreb last time around.

Leao is the first player to record 2 goals and 1 assist in a Milan Derby since Shevchenko did it in Milan's 6-0 win vs Inter on May 11, 2001 ⭐

h/t @gippu1 https://t.co/S4qY60cf8a

Rafael Leao looks certain to be included in Portugal's squad for the upcoming 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar based on his current form.