Portugal defeat Switzerland 6-1, Ronaldo replacement Ramos scores hat-trickdefeat.
Portugal has advanced to the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup and will play Morocco. Despite dropping Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal was still able to beat Switzerland 6-1. His replacement, Goncalo Ramos, scored a hat-trick for Portugal.
Veteran Pepe, who was wearing the captain’s armband in Ronaldo’s absence, and Ramos scored the first two goals in the first half of the game.
39 – Portugal defender Pepe is now the oldest ever player to score in a knockout stage game at the #FIFAWorldCup (39 years & 283 days old). Appetite. pic.twitter.com/jHpufdLLIF
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 6, 2022
Raphael Guerreiro then added a fourth before the hour mark and Ramos scored his third goal to become the first player to score a hat-trick in the knock-out stages of World Cup since 1990.
Portugal showed that they are capable of playing as a team without their talismanic captain, Ronaldo, who was dropped due to his reaction to being substituted against South Korea in the group stages.
21-year old Ramos debuted for Portugal last month, but he had not started for them before tonight.
HAT TRICK HERO!! 🙌🇵🇹
Cristiano Ronaldo is going to struggle to re-gain his spot in the team after this performance… 😬#ITVFootball | #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/ChntVtONCx
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) December 6, 2022
Portugal played as an interdependent team for the first time in the tournament and looked like they could win it.
However, a consolation goal from Switzerland’s Manuel Akanji in the 56th minute was not enough to turn the tide of the game.
Ronaldo was substituted in the 72nd minute to a huge ovation from the 90,000-seater stadium. His effort in the 82nd minute was ruled offside.
Rafael Leao scored a wonderful finish in the 91st minute, ensuring Portugal’s entry into the quarter-finals against Morocco on Saturday afternoon.
Murat Yakin, the manager of Switzerland, revealed that three players had been ill prior to the match: Widmer with a cold, Schar out of breath at half time, and Elvedi with a fever.
Yakin also explained his decision to switch up Switzerland’s formation for the match, saying that it was not a major change and that his players had not effectively executed the plan.
He also clarified the benching of Cristiano Ronaldo was not related to the formation change.
Fernando Santos, the manager of Portugal, said there was no problem with Cristiano Ronaldo following the team’s convincing victory.
The 68-year-old stated that “our skipper is OK.” “We’ve known each other for years. He supported my choice when we chatted before the game. He’s an illustration.
“We have another encounter in four days, and we need to prepare for it. We must choose the actions that are ideal for that game. I believe those problems have been resolved, and I’ll say it again: this issue is resolved.
