Goncalo Ramos is probably still pinching himself. Having been the centre of attention in the build-up to Portugal’s round-of-16 tie against Switzerland, due to the fact that he was replacing legendary striker Cristiano Ronaldo in the starting line-up, few could have predicted the explosive performance that was produced by the 21-year-old.
As Portugal defied the football odds today, hammering Switzerland 6-1, Ramos bagged a memorable hat-trick, and even Ronaldo could not contain a smile from the bench. Let’s take a look at the three goals in more detail as we reflect on an unforgettable night for the young striker.
Pure power
The first goal was simply the stuff of dreams. The opening 20 minutes of the game had been closely fought, with little indication that such a one-sided game was in store.
That was until Ramos received the ball from Joao Felix inside the Switzerland box. He was shepherded wide by Fabian Schar, into a position where there seemed to be little danger. However, in the blink of an eye, Ramos crashed a stunning left-footed strike high into the roof of the net at goalkeeper Yann Sommer’s near post.
After a brief moment of pure incredulity amongst the crowd, the Lusail Iconic Stadium burst into rapture, as Ramos wheeled away in a combination of delight and disbelief.
Striker’s instinct
After Pepe’s towering header had given Portugal a 2-0 lead at half-time, Fernando Santos’ side were on the hunt for more goals at the beginning of the second period. They duly notched a third through Ramos, who demonstrated his predatory instincts to latch onto Diogo Dalot’s centre and slip the ball past Sommer, having squandered a big chance just before the interval.
It was a proper striker’s goal, as Ramos kept himself in front of the challenging defender before directing the ball expertly into the net. With the score at 3-0, there was then no way back for Switzerland as Portugal’s fans danced in Doha.
A delicate touch
From that point on, Ramos had his sights set on a hat-trick, and the third goal arrived midway through the second half. Another through pass from Felix set the Benfica striker racing through on goal, and Ramos had the presence of mind to delicately chip the ball beyond the helpless Sommer.
A gentle stab at the ball was all it took to take it gently over the outstretched leg of the goalkeeper and into the far corner. You could argue that a player wouldn’t finish so calmly were the score not already heavily in his team’s favour. But that just goes to show the confidence that was coursing through Ramos at that point.
It was the stuff dreams are made of, as Ramos became the first player to score a hat-trick at the 2022 World Cup, the first man to score a knockout hat-trick since Tomas Skuhravy for Czechoslovakia in 1990, and the youngest World Cup hat-trick scorer since Hungary’s Florian Albert in 1962.
It’s no surprise that Ramos was the talk of the footballing world after his performance against Switzerland, and there are already rumours circulating that he could be on the move to one of Europe’s elite teams in the near future.