Portugal’s Goncalo Ramos scored a hatrick as his team thrashed Switzerland 6-1 to set up a quarter-final against Morocco
Gonçalo Ramos scored a hat-trick as Portugal beat Switzerland by six points to progress to the quarter-finals.
Portugal qualified for the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup after beating Switzerland 6-1 on Tuesday night at the Lusail Stadium in the round of 16.
Gonçalo Ramos scored his first hat-trick of this year’s tournament in Qatar, while Pepe, Raphael Guerreiro and Rafael Leão also scored as Portugal beat a weak Switzerland, whose only goal of the night came from Manuel Akanji midway through the game. the second time
Fernando Santos’ side advanced to the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the third time in their history and first since 2006 and now prepare for the last 16 against surprising Morocco, who stunned Spain 3-0 on penalties early on. of the day.
The main topic of conversation before kick-off was the news that Cristiano Ronaldo had been sent off as the 37-year-old did not start for Portugal at a major tournament for the first time since Euro 2008.
Santos, who criticized Ronaldo’s reaction after he was sent off in the 2-1 victory over South Korea in the last game, made the bold decision to replace the five-time Ballon d’Or winner with Benfica forward Ramos, who was making his first international appearance. match. start.
Indeed, the 21-year-old, who made his senior debut less than three weeks ago, rewarded his coach’s confidence by breaking the deadlock in the 18th minute.
After getting a cross from João Félix in the area on the left, Ramos turned quickly and fired a powerful left-footed shot from close range into the high corner that went past Yann Sommer and finished at the near post.
Portugal then began to dominate the game against a Swiss line-up generally known for their durable qualities, and Sommer was twice called into action immediately after the opener, comfortably avoiding two shots from Otavio and Ramos from the edge of the area.
Switzerland’s best chance of the first half came in the 29th minute from Xherdan Shaqiri, who went close with a vicious free-kick from around 30 yards, prompting Diogo Costa to run towards the left post to steer the ball into the corner.
It proved to be Switzerland’s only real chance in the first 45 minutes, with Portugal opening the scoring soon after, doubling their lead in the 33rd minute thanks to a thunderous header from veteran defender Pepe.
Sommer then denied Ramos a second of the night three minutes before the break and the Swiss No.1 pounced to knock the ball out of danger.
However, Ramos needed just four minutes after the break to score Portugal’s second and third as Diogo Dalot crossed from the bottom right corner for Benfica, who dived in front of a defender at the far post. the ball at Sommer’s feet.
Portugal came back in style and scored their fourth goal in the 55th minute when a well-executed and fluid counter-attacking move saw left-sided Guerreiro beat Sommer into the top of the net.
While Santos was delighted with his side’s rampant performance, the 68-year-old expressed his frustration when Switzerland had a corner saved just two minutes later when Manchester City defender Akanji dived over the bar to score. vary.
However, Santos and company were smiling again in the 67th minute as Ramos completed his hat-trick in style, collecting a perfectly weighted pass from Félix before Sommer pounced into the far corner.
To the delight of many at the Lusail Stadium, Ronaldo was one of three Portuguese players to come on in the 72nd minute, along with Ricardo Horta and Vitinha, between Ramos, Félix and Otávio.
Ronaldo got the ball into the back corner in the 84th minute when he curled a left-footed shot into the bottom corner, but the goal was disallowed when the Portugal number 7 was caught offside.
However, substitute team-mate Leão was able to score as the AC Milan star cut in from the left before firing into the right corner in stoppage time to add six to cap off a brilliant night for Portugal.
The semi-final match between Portugal and Morocco will be played at the Al Thumama Stadium.
Lineups:
Portugal Replacements: Patricio, Palhinha, Ronaldo, Andre Silva, Sa, Leao, Vitinha, Mario, Neves, Cancelo, Horta, Luiz, Antonio Silva.
Switzerland Replacements: Elvedi, Zakaria, Seferovic, Steffen, Omlin, Aebischer, Fassnacht, Comert, Okafor, Frei, Kobel, Kohn, Rieder, Jashari.
Scorers:
Portugal
Switzerland
Yellow Cards:
