Portugal made a statement in the 1/8th finals against Switzerland: without Cristiano Ronaldo (who started on the bench) the team is possibly even stronger. Ronaldo’s replacement Gonçalo Ramos was the big star: he accounted for 3 of the 6 Portuguese goals.
Portugal – Switzerland in a nutshell:
- Key moment: Switzerland may still harbor some hope at the start of the second half, but Gonçalo Ramos quickly crushes it with his second of the evening. He catches up well on a low cross from Dalot and taps the ball through Sommer’s legs into goal. 3-0 and books up for the Swiss.
- Man of the match: Three raids, Gonçalo Ramos has not had more to his credit with the national team until today. Nevertheless, national coach Fernando Santos kicked him off and not Ronaldo. The Benfica striker thanked for the confidence with a heck of a match seasoned with a hat-trick and an assist.
- Remarkable: And whether Gonçalo Ramos has issued his business card. The Portugal striker is the first player since Czech Tomás Skuhravy at the 1990 World Cup to produce a hat-trick in the knockout stages of a World Cup.
Young foal and old boy do it for Portugal
Fernando Santos did the unthinkable, the Portuguese national coach unceremoniously put Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench for this 1/8th final. Leão seemed the logical replacement, but Santos surprisingly chose 21-year-old Ramos. A bold move, but one that worked out very well.
After more than fifteen minutes, Ramos already proved Santos right. And how! With a phenomenal kick in the turn, he rammed the ball high into goal from a sharp angle. Sommer and with him all of Switzerland was left bewildered. Ramos got the hang of it and showed Schär stars, Sommer had some trouble on a low slider from the Benfica striker.
Only around half an hour was Switzerland also able to threaten with a nice free kick from Shaqiri, but immediately afterwards Portugal struck a second time. The almost 40-year-old Pepe once again showed his qualities on a perfectly cut corner kick from Fernandes and made it 2-0 with a buffalo punch.
A disappointing Switzerland came to squeak just before half-time. Costa couldn’t control a dangerous cross from Edimilson Fernandes, but Freuler was unable to take advantage in the rebound with a weak header. After a wonderful pass from Bruno Fernandes, Ramos had the 3-0 at his foot shortly before half-time, Sommer helped with a nice save.
Ramos conquers hearts with shining performance
Immediately after the break, that third Portuguese goal came anyway. Ramos put the tip of his boot against a low cross from Dalot and Sommer saw the ball go through his legs into goal. Barely five minutes later, the Swiss goalkeeper had to turn around again. Ramos added some color to his top evening with a nice assist and Guerreiro finished it off mercilessly.
Ramos turned out to be in a generous mood, as he also helped Switzerland score on a corner kick. The Portuguese star headed the ball through at the near post and Akanji fumbled in the Swiss honor saver at the far post. It was not more than a plaster on the wound for the Alpine country.
On the contrary, because Portugal stuck the knife a little deeper into that wound. Ramos emphasized his very strong match even more with his third of the evening. Perfectly launched by Felix, he cleverly put the fifth Portuguese goal past Sommer.
In the final quarter, Ronaldo was dropped into the team under loud cheers. The star player was eager to score his goal, but his goal was rightly rejected for offside. Leão, another substitute, fared better. With a magnificent goal, he placed the pinnacle for Portugal: 6-1. A confidence boost for the Portuguese, although Morocco will undoubtedly be a different story in the quarter-finals.
How do the national coach and the players react to Ronaldo?
Although the players were allowed to cheer after the game, the atmosphere before kick-off was less exuberant.
Afterwards, the national coach made few words about his daring decision to put Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench. “I’ve already said it and I’m not going to explain it again. Ronaldo and Ramos are different players.”
Pepe, the oldest goalscorer in the knockout phase of a World Cup with his 2-0, also did not want to say much about the choice of the national coach.
“Cris knows very well and the coach has also said it emphatically: the most important thing in this tournament is ‘us’. It is a choice of the coach and we must respect that decision.”
And what did the standout and substitute himself say? “Ronaldo is an example for me. Just like Robert Lewandowski or Zlatan Ibrahimovic are. Cristiano is our captain and, as always, encouraged us: he supported us.”
Check out the other goals:
Leao provides the icing on the cake with a beautiful goal: 6-1
Ronaldo’s goal is disallowed for offside
The public goes wild for Ronaldo’s substitution
