Portugal's Goncalo Ramos is embraced by teammate Pepe after scoring his side's 5th goal during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Portugal and Switzerland, at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar, Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein)Portugal vs Switzerland (POR vs SUI) Highlights: With Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench, the superstar striker’s replacement scored a hat trick to lead Portugal over Switzerland 6-1 and into the World Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday. Goncalo Ramos, a 21-year-old forward who only made his Portugal debut last month, made his first start for his country and demonstrated the kind of clinical finishing Ronaldo was once known for.
Ramos scored the opening goal in the 17th minute and added others in the 51st and 67th — by which time chants of “RONALDO! RONALDO!” were swirling around the 89,000-seat Lusail Stadium. Ronaldo entered as a substitute in the 72nd minute to loud cheers, though Portugal had the game wrapped up by then with defenders Pepe and Raphael Guerreiro also scoring. Rafael Leao added a late goal in stoppage time.
Manuel Akanji scored for Switzerland. Portugal advanced to the quarterfinals for the third time, after 1966 and 2006, and will play Morocco on Saturday. Portugal coach Fernando Santos now has to decide whether to stick with Ramos or restore Ronaldo, the top scorer in men’s international soccer and one of the game’s greatest ever players.
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo on the substitutes bench. (REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani)
And that's it. The referee has signalled the end of the match and the end of Swiss misery. Emphatic victory by Portugal as they will next go on to face a game Morocco in the quarterfinals.
4 mins of stoppage time added and Portugal have a goal kick. They are content on playing it in their half at the moment though. What a goall by Leao. He cuts back inside the right flank and places the ball into the Switzerland goal. Absolutely nothing the goalie could do about that.
POR 6-1 SUI
That's another half chance for Ronaldo as Ruben Neves passes the ball to Bruno Fernandes, who plays a lofted ball into the Swiss box. Ronaldo can't get there though.
Bruno's race is done and he is withdrawn, to be replaced by Leao.
POR 5-1 SUI
A lot of tired passes from the Switzerland team. Gives away a balland ronaldo is off to the races. One on one with the keeper and he puts it in the back of the net. But it's offside.
POR 5-1 SUI
Embolo gets the ball. It's been a while since he last got the ball to be honest. He sets up a bicycloe volley and it goes wide. Wasn't troubling the keeper.
POR 5-1 SUI
Free kick and who else to take but Cristiano Ronaldo. Long run up and he hits it straight at the wall. That was a stinger but we wait another day for CR7's free kick goal.
POR 5-1 SUI
Finally, Cristiano Ronaldo is called off the bench and that's a thunderous ovation!!! Ramos comes off. Otavio and Joao Felix are also off, to be replaced by Vitinha and Ricardo Horta
And what do you know!!! Ramos has completed his hattrick. This kid is something special!!! This is the first hattrick of the World Cup as well. Silva passes it to him and he dinks it over the keeper.
POR 5-1 SUI
After that goal fest, things have calmed down a tad bit in the middle with Switzerland playing a few passes among themselves looking for an opening. A corner now. Played short and Shaqiri has ballooned it into orbit.
POR 4-1 SUI
It's goals galore at the moment as Switzerland get one back. A curling corner is flicked on off Ramos's head and Akanji is there in the near post to put it into the POR net.
POR 4-1 SUI
And that's number 4!!! Portugal are having a field day out there. It just looks too easy at the moment. Raphael Guerreiro is allowed to run into the Switzerland box and finishes it with ease.
POR 4-0 SUI
Bruno Fernandes allowed to progress, plays a pass to Dalot who cuts inside and plays a low cross only foir Ramos to just tap it inside the Switzerland net. That's number 3.
POR 3-0 SUI
Portugal with the initiative early as Carvalho runs deep inside the Swiss half and plays a through ball to bernardo Silva, only for a Switzerland defender to come acropss and blast the ball out of play.
POR 2-0 SUI
We are ready for the second half and no sign of Cristiano Ronaldo coming off the bench just yet. Portugal will kick us away. Fabian Schar is replaced by Eray Comert in a Swiss change
Portugal’s brightest, most inventive half of the tournament, and it has come without their talisman on the pitch.
The forward players have been able to break at pace down the central areas on the transition, and with good interplay with each other, as opposed to forcing the ball out wide and playing in crosses. Joao Felix and Bernardo Silva in particular, the former with a few highlight-reel dribbles already, have been brilliant.
Fernando Santos also dropped Joao Cancelo in favour of the more defensively sound Diogo Dalot, who has looked solid. A near-perfect half for the manager, whose bold calls have paid off.
And it's all over for this half. Portugal playing like a well oiled machine at the moment, creating chances after chances. Goals from Pepe and Ramos have put them in firm control while Switzerland haven't had a sniff at Portugal's goal, except for that Shaqiri free kick midway through the half.
4 added minutes and Portugal are relentless. Pepe plays a long straight ball over the Switzerland defence which is defended for a corner. Corner taken short and the ball is fed to Raphael Guerreiro who shoots it well wide.
POR 2-0 SUI
Felix almost running the length of the field with the ball as the Swiss players can't get anywhere near him. He plays a pass to Bruno, who wants to play a dinked pass back to him but finds a Switzerland leg.
POR 2-0 SUI
There's a foul on felix in a Portugal build up but the referee decides to play advantage. Ramos with the ball, can he finish?? Tries to place it to the left of the keeper and it's saved.
The referee goes to the previous foul on Felix and books Schar.
POR 2-0 SUI
Portugal's Fernandes gets the ball near the right flank, as he is fed by Joao felix's dink and he tries something between a cross and a shot, resulting in the ball getting blazed over the bar.
POR 2-0 SUI
A response from Switzerland as Fernandes's cross is met by Costa near the goal, it's bobbed up and a Swiss header reaches it but it's ultimately cleared away.
POR 2-0 SUI
Two back to back chances fall to the players. First, Shaqiri curls a beautiful free kick which was saved by the keeper. Next, Pepe did what he does best. From the corner, he rises high and puts the ball in the Switzerland net. Perfect header.
POR 2-0 SUI
A few days back a Cristiano Ronaldo picture went viral. Not a goal, not the finger-on-lips thingy, but him diving into his shorts presumably into a secret pocket to pull out a chewing gum.
Ramos, the man who would replace him today and score a goal, would be asked if he would take a gum from Ronaldo.
'Not from him or anyone else, only my brother,” Ramos laughed before speaking about Ronaldo.
“'He's a reference point for everyone. He's an idol and leads the team but he's not the only one. We have others olike Bruno Fernandes or Pepe, who can also lead and help Cristiano.”
Today with his idol benched, Ramos materialised at the left corner of the goal with practically no space to be seen between the goalie and the post. Ramos smoked it past the startled goalie, and would emerge from the celebratory huddle and do his regular celebration: a smoking gun, of course. Shortly, the camera panned to Ronaldo, sitting stone faced, watching.
Felix is playing pretty deep at the moment as Portugal keep stringing passes together. This has been their gameplay thus far. They will build and build and suddenly send a through lob in behind the Swiss defense.
POR 1-0 SUI
Schar is down on the ground now with medics tending to him. A few minutes of stoppage and looks like he is good to go again.
POR 1-0 SUI
Portugal are on an attacking spree. One ball from defence is enough to tear the Swiss defence to shreds. Ramos gets a ball again and shoots but this time, straight at the goalie.
POR 1-0 SUI
And that's a goal!!! And guess who!! It's Ramos who had replaced Ronaldo in the starting lineup. What a hit!!! It seemed impossible to score from that angle!!! It has just bamboozled Sommar.
The man who replaces ronaldo on target in his fourth start for Portugal. Also comes up with his own signature celebration - a smoking gun
POR 1-0 SUI
Pepe with a great cross but it falls in behind Felix. Even the new boy Ramos can't keep it in and switzerland sends it towards their own forwards. End to end stuff.
POR 0-0 SUI
Great diagonal ball from the midfield by Schaer and it finds the Swiss Fernandes who has acres of room. He goes inside from the right flank and crosses. It's too deep and Portugal can clear.
POR 0-0 SUI
A rather cagey start to the match as both teams look to break away, only to be stopped by their opponents. Both missing a final killer ball and in search of it, are content to just knock it around.
POR 0-0 SUI
Embolo is down froman elbow from Dias. He gets medical attention and he's on again. but he looks rather displeased that VAR did not at least check the tackle.
POR 0-0 SUI
Portugal knocking the ball around comfortably. Joao Felix feeds the ball to Bruno but his touch is a tad heavy as Switzerland clear the ball away.
POR 0-0 SUI
The national anthems are done and switzerland in all whites kick us off against Portugal in the crimson jersies
Although Ronaldo has scored in five tournaments, he has only eight total goals in 20 World Cup matches. His 118 goals in international play is a world record for men, but Ronaldo has never scored in the knockout stage of the World Cup. Can he buck the trend tonight?
Morocco dumped Spain out of the World Cup in a last-16 penalty shootout on Tuesday with Spanish-born Achraf Hakimi scoring the decisive spot-kick after Spain squandered all three of their attempts, following a 0-0 draw over 120 minutes.
Hakimi, a product of the Real Madrid youth system, calmly slotted his penalty past Unai Simon in Spain’s goal to seal Morocco’s 3-0 win in the shootout. (READ MORE)
Switzerland have qualified from a pretty comeptitive group. They started the tournament with a 1-0 win over Cameroon. Then they went on to lose the second match against Brazil before eking out a 3-2 win against Serbia in a thrilling encounter.
Portugal started the tournament with a narrow 3-2 victory over Ghana, a match where Cristiano Ronaldo scored to become the first player to score in 5 different World Cups. In the second match, it was a routine 2-0 victory for them against Uruguay while in the 3rd match, they lost 2-1 to South Korea
Xherdan Shaqiri is one goal away from matching Sepp Huegi's record for most World Cup goals scored by a Swiss player (six) and he lines up with skipper Granit Xhaka in midfield.
Breel Embolo, Switzerland's top scorer in Qatar with two goals, continues to lead the line while first choice goalkeeper Yann Sommer returns after missing their last group game against Serbia due to illness.
Portugal coach Fernando Santos benched skipper and all-time top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo for their World Cup last-16 clash against Switzerland on Tuesday, with veteran defender Pepe taking the captain's armband.
Ronaldo, the first player to score in five World Cups, has only one goal in Qatar which came in Portugal's group opener against Ghana.
He appeared to challenge Santos over the decision to substitute him in their loss to South Korea but the 37-year-old, a free agent after leaving Manchester United, denied that was the case.
Bruno Fernandes's return will be a boost for the 2016 European champions, however, after he grabbed two goals and two assists in the first two games before being rested for the Korea clash. The playmaker will slot in behind Joao Felix, who also returns to the starting lineup, and Goncalo Ramos.
Portugal: Diogo Costa, Diogo Dalot, Pepe, Ruben Dias, Raphael Guerreiro, Bruno Fernandes, Otavio, Bernardo Silva, Joao Felix, William Carvalho, Goncalo Ramos
Switzerland: Yann Sommer, Edimilson Fernandes, Manuel Akanji, Breel Embolo, Remo Freuler, Granit Xhaka, Ricardo Rodriguez, Djibril Sow, Ruben Vargas, Fabian Schaer, Xherdan Shaqiri
Cristiano Ronaldo will not start the last 16 match against Switzerland on Tuesday. This comes on the heels of recent reports that Portugal coach Fernando Santos was not happy with Ronaldo’s gestures after being subbed off against South Korea in their last group match. Pepe will captain the side tonight.
Cristiano Ronaldo remains in the eye of the proverbial storm before Portugal’s last 16 match against Switzerland on Tuesday, with coach Fernando Santos saying that he did not like the gestures that the 37-year-old talisman made while he was being substituted against South Korea.
Last Friday in Portugal’s defeat to South Korea, Ronaldo was withdrawn midway through the second half. While going out, he had put an index finger to his lips as and later said he was irked by the opposition striker Cho Gue-sung for asking him to speed up his exit. (READ MORE)