As Portugal trounces Switzerland, Ramos scores a hat-trick

Goncalo Ramos led Portugal to a devastating 6-1 victory against Switzerland in the most recent Round of 16 matches, setting up their quarterfinal matchup with Morocco in the current FIFA World Cup 2022.

Ramos’ amazing hat-trick on his complete debut and his key contribution to Portugal’s advancement into the quarterfinals helped to vindicate his surprising selection over star player Cristiano Ronaldo.

In place of Ronaldo, Ramos started for Portugal, and it only took him 17 minutes to get his team on the board. Joao Felix’s deft pass found Ramos’ feet, and he quickly dribbled past Fabian Schaer and fired the ball into the roof of the net.

When XherdanShaqiri took a dipping free-kick from a distance, Switzerland quickly came close to scoring the equalizer, but Diogo Costa’s amazing save stopped them.

After Bruno Fernandes whipped in a corner, Pepe leapt and connected with the ball with a thunderous header that sailed past Yann Sommer in the 33rd minute to double Portugal’s advantage. After the interval, the relentless Portugal onslaught continued, and six minutes into the second half, Ramos added another goal from DogoDalot’s pass to make it 3-0.

Four minutes later, Guerreiro was able to score when he exchanged roles, taking advantage of the constant breakdown of the Swiss defense.

When Manuel Akanji scored for Switzerland in the 58th minute after being the first to a flick-on, Switzerland finally had a moment to savor.

As Ramos finished up his hat-trick following excellent work by Felix, neatly dinking over Sommer with one of his final touches before making way for Ronaldo, Akanji’s goal could not turn the tide for a lethargic Swiss team.

The Lusail Stadium audience erupted when Ronaldo replaced Ramos. The star player did, however, have the ball in the back of the net, but it was disallowed for a glaring offside.

The last touch for Portugal was Rafael Leao’s incredible curling goal in stoppage time, which sealed a decisive 6-1 win and sent them into the round of eight.

On Saturday, December 8, Morocco, which defeated Spain on penalties to get to the last eight for the first time, will now face Fernando Santos’ team in the quarterfinal.