World Cup 2022 – Portugal 6-1 Switzerland: Goncalo Ramos nets hat-trick as dropped Ronaldo watches on

World Cup 2022 – Portugal 6-1 Switzerland: Goncalo Ramos nets hat-trick as dropped Cristiano Ronaldo watches on

The build-up to the knockout match was dominated by Ronaldo’s response to his substitution in Portugal’s previous game, and his relegation put an end to a run of 31 games he had started for his country at tournament finals.

Goncalo Ramos celebrates after opening the scoring for Portugal against Switzerland

In lieu of Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal defeated Switzerland 6-1 in the World Cup round of 16, and Goncalo Ramos scored a hat-trick. Portugal had no misgivings about benching Ronaldo.

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Match report as Goncalo Ramos nets first hat-trick of World Cup 2022 as Portugal drop Cristiano Ronaldo but thrash Switzerland 6-1 in last 16; Raphael Guerreiro, Pepe and Rafael Leao also on target in superb win

Portugal advanced to the World Cup quarterfinals for the first time since 2006 thanks to one of the best performances of the competition thus far, where Spain’s opponents Morocco await.

Ramos, his successor, took just 17 minutes to score his first World Cup goal with a thundering effort that went past Yann Sommer before he could react. Ramos was five years old when Ronaldo netted his first World Cup goal.

Before the half, Portugal increased their lead when Pepe, 39, scored from a corner to become the second-oldest World Cup scorer ever. Ramos then put an end to the match with a poacher’s finish at the near post.

Just before the hour, even left-back Raphael Guerreiro participated, rifling home an enticing Ramos assist, before Manuel Akanji stabbed home a consolation that hardly called for a celebration.

With the first hat-trick of this World Cup, Ramos transitioned back from assist to goal scorer, deftly chipping Sommer to reaffirm his manager’s faith.

Big moments in the game…

17 min: Near-post Ramos rocket opens scoring

33 min: Unmarked Pepe adds second from corner

51 min: Ramos puts game to bed with poacher’s finish

55 min: Guerreiro rifles in fourth in Portugal rout

58 min: Akanji finish from corner pulls one back

67 min: Ramos seals first hat-trick of World Cup with chip

73 min: Ronaldo comes on for Felix after crowd call for him

84 min: Offside flag up after Ronaldo finds back of Swiss net

90+2 min: Leao finishes scoring with fine curling finish

Soon later, Ronaldo eventually came off the bench, but Rafael Leao’s magnificent corner curl in extra time meant that another young player—rather than Portugal’s senior statesman—was on the scoresheet.

How Portugal ignored Ronaldo noise to reach quarter-finals

Despite switching to a back three, which Xherdan Shaqiri subsequently told reporters was manager Murat Yakin’s “surprise” choice, Switzerland had improved in their third consecutive World Cup game before Ramos’ opening kick.

That may have been the reason they were unable to recover from that initial setback. While Xherdan Shaqiri came near with a rare Switzerland assault from a free kick, Ramos and Otavio both put Sommer to the test. Pepe then gave Portugal a lead in the opening period.

When the second-oldest World Cup goal scorer (after Roger Milla) and the sole record-breaker in the knockout rounds, he was completely unmarked as he powered home a corner to make history.

Cristiano Ronaldo came off the bench and saw a late effort ruled out for offside

Before halftime, both teams had the opportunity to increase the score, but six minutes into the second half, Ramos turned a strong low cross from the once-impressive Diogo Dalot through Sommer’s legs to score the game’s third goal.

Three quickly turned into four as Switzerland’s heads fell, and Guerreiro was given a clear path forward by Edmilson Fernandes’ careless defending, who then met Ramos’ pass and fired into the roof of the net.

At least Akanji’s close-range goal gave Switzerland a lead, but Ramos’ deft dink beat Sommer and gave him the game’s top honor just nine minutes, sending Switzerland back to picking the ball out of their own net.

As the game progressed on, it appeared more and more like a statement victory, and Leao showed off the breadth of quality at Portugal’s disposal by curling in a beautiful sixth four minutes after coming off the bench.

That resulted in his nation’s second-largest World Cup victory to date and Switzerland’s greatest loss in tournament history.

What does the result mean?

Portugal will now face Morocco in the quarter-finals on Saturday, kick-off 3pm. The winner of that game will play either England or France in the World Cup semi-finals.

Opta stats: Portugal finally return to quarter-finals

Portugal have reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup for just the third time, after 2006 and 1966, ending a run of five consecutive knockout games at the tournament without a victory (D1 L4).

Switzerland have failed to progress in all five of their World Cup matches in the round of 16, conceding six goals in a knockout round match at the tournament for the second time, after a 7-5 defeat to Austria in the quarter-final in 1954.

This was Portugal’s biggest ever victory in the knockout rounds of the World Cup, scoring six goals outside the group stages for the first time.

At 21 years and 169 days old, Goncalo Ramos became Portugal’s second youngest goal scorer in World Cup history after Cristiano Ronaldo (21y 132d in June 2006), while he’s the first player to score a hat-trick on his first World Cup start since Miroslav Klose in 2002.

Portugal’s Gonçalo Ramos (21y 169d) became the youngest player to score a World Cup hat-trick since Flórián Albert (20y 261d) for Hungary in 1962.

Bruno Fernandes has been directly involved in five goals in three games at the 2022 World Cup (two goals and three assists); the most by a Portuguese player in a single edition of the tournament since 1966 (10 Eusébio & 6 José Torres).

At 39 years and 289 days old, Pepe has become the second oldest goal scorer in World Cup history, after Roger Milla (42y 39d) for Cameroon in 1994, and the oldest ever to score in a knockout round in the competition.

Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t named in Portugal’s starting XI for a game at a major tournament for the first time since 2008 (also against Switzerland), ending a 31-game streak in which he had been a starter at major tournaments for his country.

Quarter-final fixtures

Friday December 9

Croatia vs Brazil – Kick-off 3pm

Netherlands vs Argentina – Kick-off 7pm

Saturday December 10

Morocco vs Portugal – Kick-off 3pm

England vs France – Kick-off 7pm

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