On Wednesday, a rampaging Portugal advanced into the quarterfinals thanks to a young Goncalo Ramos’ first hat-trick of the FIFA World Cup 2022. In their Round of 16 matches at the Lusail stadium, the 21-year-old striker helped Portugal thrash Switzerland 6-1.
Ramos was started instead of Portugal’s all-time leading scorer Cristiano Ronaldo, a gutsy move made by coach Fernando Santos that paid off handsomely for his team. In their first appearance in the last eight since 2006, Portugal will take on Morocco, which defeated Spain 3-0 on penalties earlier on Tuesday.
Great performance by Ramos
Ramos had only been on the field in Qatar for 10 minutes as a substitute, but the youngster gave Portugal, who had Ronaldo on as a late replacement and who had a goal disallowed for offside, a memorable performance. After receiving a sharp pass from Joao Felix, Ramos gave the Portuguese the lead in the 17th minute by launching the ball from a tight angle into the top corner.
Portugal vs Switzerland Highlights
Ramos gave Portugal the lead in his first World Cup game with a brilliant shot in the 17th minute, and their oldest player Pepe added a goal with a strong header in the 33rd to make it 2-0 at the interval. In order to extend the advantage, Ramos scored his second goal in the 51st minute. Four minutes later, Raphael Guerreiro made it 4-0.
The advantage ultimately proved to be too much for Switzerland, who answered with a goal from Manuel Akanji in the 58th minute. Following Ramos’ goal in the 67th minute to complete his hat trick, Portugal won the game with a goal in stoppage time from replacement Rafael Leao.
With Yann Sommer once more thoroughly outmatched, Portugal’s captain Pepe increased their advantage in the 33rd minute by perfectly timing his leap to get above the two Swiss center-backs and head home a corner from Bruno Fernandes. The Portuguese led 2-0 at halftime. The Swiss goalkeeper did well to foil Ramos’ late counterattack and prevent him from scoring his second goal of the half.
Six minutes after the game’s restart, Diogo Dalot put in a cross, but Sommer was powerless to stop it because Ramos was once again in the perfect spot at the near post, sliding the ball between his legs to give Portugal a three-goal lead. Ramos found Raphael Guerreiro in a sea of free space during a Portuguese counterattack, and the full back blasted the ball past Sommer to make it 4-0 in the 55th minute.
Just before the hour mark, Switzerland lessened the impact as defender Manuel Akanji snuck in unnoticed at the far post from a corner to slide a shot home after Portugal failed to clear.
But when Ramos was sent through on goal by Felix and appeared to have lost possession of the ball with a clumsy touch, a strong Portugal counterattack surged back and Ramos completed a well-deserved hat-trick by chipping the ball over Sommer.
Rafael Leao, a substitute, then supplied the final touch in stoppage time of the second half, curling a shot into the far corner as Sommer, who was left deserted, watched the ball soar past him and into the goal. Sommer’s shoulders slumped in disappointment.
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