Tuesday night, Cristiano Ronaldo watched from the bench for the majority of Portugal’s 6-1 victory against Switzerland in the World Cup’s round of 16 encounter in Qatar.
After behaved poorly after being substituted against South Korea in Portugal’s final group game, manager Fernando Santos dropped Ronaldo.
Goncalo Ramos, a 21-year-old striker for Benfica, stole the show in his absence with a hat-trick and made a strong case to replace Ronaldo going forward.
After latching onto a feed from Joao Felix, Ramos scored after just 17 minutes as he turned and shot into Yan Sommer’s top corner.
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The 39-year-old captain Pepe scored a goal with a bullet header 16 minutes later to double the advantage.
After the break, Ramos quickly completed his hat trick. On the 51st minute, he connected with a pass into the penalty area from Diogo Dalot to score his second goal.
Ramos put an end to any possibility of a potential comeback for the Swiss after Manuel Akanji pulled one back with a goal on 67 minutes while a magnificent Joao Felix notched his second assist. Ramos assisted Raphael Guerreiro to make it 4-0 before the hour mark.
Ramos not only became the first player to score a hat trick in the 2022 World Cup but also the youngest player to do it in the history of the tournament’s knockout round since Pele.
When Ramos was replaced by three players on the 73rd minute, Santos finally heard the thunderous cries of the Lusail Stadium fans for the introduction of Ronaldo.
Five-time Awarded the Ballon d’Or Offside flags were raised against Ronaldo’s goal, but there was still time for Rafael Leao to score in stoppage time after cutting inside the area.
As his teammates cheered, Ronaldo thanked the audience and was the first to exit the tunnel.
His nation will now compete against giant-killers Morocco, who defeated Spain in a penalty shootout earlier on Tuesday and are vying to become the first team ever to play in the semifinals.
The Portuguese might face either the 2018 champions France or England in the last four if they are as effective and efficient as they were against the Swiss with 14 shots and nine on target that resulted in their six goals.
