Portugal defeated Switzerland 6-1 to go to the World Cup quarterfinals behind a hat-trick from Goncalo Ramos.
Ramos started in place of Cristiano Ronaldo and ultimately contributed to four goals. Pepe scored Portugal's second goal in Ronaldo's absence, and Ramos set up Raphael Guerreiro for Portugal's third. Manuel Akanji's consolation goal for Switzerland before Ramos' hat-trick goal and Rafael Leao's late miracle were merely footnotes.
The opening play by Ramos was completely out of character for the slow start. Ramos took a touch after Joao Felix passed into the left side of the box and then fired a tight-angle left-footed shot into the top-left corner.
Before the half-hour mark, Diogo Costa saved Xherdan Shaqiri's free-kick with the tip of his finger. Portugal capitalized three minutes later when Pepe headed in a corner from Bruno Fernandes.
Two goals scored early in the second half quickly put an end to any possibility of a comeback. Diogo Dalot's low cross was originally turned in by Ramos before the forward selflessly set up Guerreiro.
After a Portugal defender accidentally flicked on a corner, Akanji knocked it in at the back post, but soon after, Ramos' impudent dink over Yann Sommer made it a memorable treble.
Leao scored a stunning curler in stoppage time to seal the victory for Portugal. He was later replaced by Ronaldo, who had a late goal disallowed for offside.
RAMOS IS IN CHARGE.
One of the worst full World Cup debuts you're ever going to watch was this one. Ramos took six shots in this game, scoring three of them while also providing excellent support for Guerreiro.
With his hat-trick, he became the first player since Miroslav Klose in 2002 to score three goals in his first World Cup game. That is a tough act to follow.
FERNANDES SUCCEEDS ONCE MORE
The star of Manchester United, Fernandes, is having a great competition. He had a team-high three crucial passes, which was more than any other player managed during the group stages. He was a creative nuisance once more here, claiming another assist.
STATISTICS
- Portugal has advanced to the World Cup quarterfinals for the third time, joining 2006 and 1966, snapping a streak of five straight knockout games without a victory (D1 L4).
- After losing 7-5 to Austria in the quarterfinal in 1954, Switzerland has lost all five of its World Cup games in the round of 16, giving up six goals in a tournament match for the second time.
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