Portugal boss reveals why Ramos replaced Ronaldo as 21-year-old nets record hattrick

A month after making his international debut, Goncalo Ramos made his first World Cup appearance during Portugal vs Switzerland at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, Round of 16 on Tuesday night. Replacing the Portuguese great Cristiano Ronaldo in the starting lineup, the 21-year-old made a dream start in front of the 89000-seat Lusail Stadium. He scored a sensational hattrick against the Swiss national team, as Portugal advanced into the quaterfinals with a 6-1 victory.

However, the Lusail crowd did get their wish fulfilled in the 72nd minute when Ronaldo came in as a substitute, but Portugal had already wrapped the game by then. One of the main talking points ahead of the Last 16 fixture was the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s attitude after he was substituted against South Korea in the team’s final group game. Heading into the game, Portugal coach Fernando Santos had expressed his unhappiness with Ronaldo’s behaviour but after the win, the manager termed the decision to drop the captain as a strategic one. 

Portugal boss reveals reason behind dropping Cristiano Ronaldo at FIFA World Cup

As reported by the Associated Press, after the win against Switzerland on Tuesday night, Santos said, “What we have to do is think about this team collectively”. On his decision to drop Ronaldo, the 68-year-old manager added, “I will always consider he is a very important player to have in the team.”

Having made three substitute appearances for Portugal before, Ramos emerged as a surprising replacement who took his chance to the fullest. He scored the opening goal of the match at 17’, before defender Pepe found the net in the 33rd minute. The 21-year-old handed Portugal the third goal by scoring at 51’ before Raphael Guerreiro took the lead to 4-0 with his 55th-minute goal.

Goncalo Ramos scripts unique FIFA World Cup record

While Manuel Akanji scored Switzerland’s only goal at 58’, Ronaldo’s replacement for the game completed his hattrick in the 67th minute. With the hat trick, he became the first player since  Germany striker Miroslav Klose in 2002 to score a hat trick in his first World Cup start. Portugal sealed the victory with Rafael Leao’s goal in the additional time and earned qualification for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 quaterfinals.

Portugal vs Switzerland marked the conclusion of the Last 16 stage, as Portugal will now face Morocco in order to advance into the semis. The FIFA World Cup quarterfinals will begin with Brazil clashing against Croatia before Lionel Messi-led Argentina face the Netherlands. England and defending champions France will also fight each other to move one step closer to the World Cup gold glory.