The World Cup Round of 16 ended in a goal-fest as Portugal put six past a distressed Switzerland side to burst into the Quarter Finals.
What made headlines though, was the fact that the lion’s share was not grabbed by Cristiano Ronaldo, but by the 21-year-old Goncalo Ramos, who bagged a hattrick in his first game as a starter in the tournament.
CR7 was surprisingly left on the bench by coach Fernando Santos, who perhaps didn’t like Ronaldo’s stiff reaction when he was subbed during the last group stage match. But Portugal showed that they mean business even without their talismanic captain, and that’s probably the most important warning sign to the other title contenders.
Portugal’s performances so far had not exactly been sparkling but tonight’s show at the Lusail Stadium reinforced their claim to the world throne, especially if their talent Goncalo Ramos continue along this path.
The Benfica striker opened his scoring account on 17 minutes as he fired the ball past Yann Sommer at the near post. The Swiss’ goalie should have done better in the occasion, but Ramos’ movement to get rid of his marker and the subsequent shot were phenomenal.
Switzerland were nowhere to be seen, their only effort being a Xherdan Shaqiri free kick that was saved by Diogo Costa. Then, on 33 minutes, they found themselves trailing by two. This time, it was captain Pepe to head the ball home from a corner kick, with the whole Rossocrociati defense leaving him free to jump.
Remo Freuler tried to pull one back with a header, but Diogo Dalot cleared the ball right on the goal line, winning the duel between the two former Serie A players. Then, Sommer kept his side afloat with a fantastic save to deny a Goncalo Ramos counterattack. At half time, the score was 2-0 for the Selecao.
Six minutes into the second half though, the score changed again as Dalot dashed along the right channel and whipped the ball in the middle of the box, where Ramos was quick to anticipate Eray Comert at the near post, making it 3-0.
Goncalo Ramos then turned provider as he offered Raphael Guerreiro the chance to make it to the scoresheet, which he took full advantage of with a brilliant chip. That came at the end of a spectacular team effort on the part of the red-and-green selection.
Three minutes later, Switzerland scored one for their pride with Manuel Akanji, who pushed into the back of the net a corner kick deflected by Ramos himself. But Ramos was not done yet and won the right to take the ball home as he beat Sommer again, chipping the ball past him from a Joao Felix service.
With 73 minutes on the clock, Cristiano Ronaldo was finally sent in. He had time to see Rafael Leao also make it to the scorecard with a brilliant curl from the edge of the box. With the score at 6-1, he tried to also join the party but his late goal was disallowed on grounds of offside. Not that Portugal needed it, anyway.
MATCH SCORECARD
December 6, 2022 – FIFA World Cup Round of 16
PORTUGAL – SWITZERLAND 6-1
SCORERS: 17′ Goncalo Ramos (P), 33′ Pepe (P), 51′ Goncalo Ramos (P), 55′ Raphael Guerreiro (P), 58′ Akanji (S), 67′ Goncalo Ramos (P), 92′ Rafael Leao (P)
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PORTUGAL (4-3-3-): Diogo Costa; Diogo Dalot, Rúben Dias, Pepe, Raphael Guerreiro; Otávio (73′ Vitinha), William Carvalho, Bruno Fernandes (87′ Rafael Leao 7); Bernardo Silva (81′ Ruben Neves), Gonçalo Ramos (73′ Cristiano Ronaldo), João Félix (73′ Ricardo Horta) (Rui Patricio, Joao Palhinha, André Silva, José Sá, Joao Mario, Joao Cancelo, Matheus Nunes, Antonio Silva) Coach: Fernando Santos |
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SWITZERLAND (4-2-3-1): Sommer; Fernandes, Schär (46′ Comert), Akanji, Rodríguez; Freuler (54′ Zakaria), Xhaka; Shaqiri, Sow (54′ Seferovic), Vargas (66′ Okafor); Embolo (89′ Jashari) (Kobel, Omlin, Elvedi, Steffen, Aebischer, Fassnacht, Frei, Kohn, Rieder) Coach: Yakin |
NOTES: Yellow Cards: Schar, Comert (S); Added Time: 1st Half 2′, 2nd Half 5′
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