Ronaldo’s Replacement Scores a Hat Trick in Portugal’s Romp Over Switzerland
Gonçalo Ramos, starting in place of Portugal’s star striker, scored the go-ahead goal and followed with two more in the second half.
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Reporting from Qatar
LUSAIL, Qatar — By the fourth goal, even Cristiano Ronaldo, standing and clapping in front of the Portugal bench, could not complain. After the fifth, he only offered a wry smile. Portugal was in the quarterfinals of the World Cup, and for a day even he knew that was a story bigger than Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo does not step out of the spotlight easily. Thirty-seven years old and newly unemployed, he has desperately wanted to make his mark at what is almost certainly his final World Cup. His performances in the group stage, though, had not matched his substantial legend, and so on Tuesday night his coach, Fernando Santos, somewhat ruthlessly turned the page.
FINAL: A hat trick by Gonçalo Ramos highlighted Portugal’s dominant performance in a 6-1 victory over Switzerland. Scoring twice after halftime, Ramos sent Portugal through with authority to its first World Cup quarterfinal since 2006, when it finished fourth.
And what a match that should be on Saturday: the magnificent attack of Portugal against the stingy defense of upstart Morocco. Starting at striker in place of Cristiano Ronaldo, Ramos, 21, figures to play in his stead once again.
This might be recency bias, but Portugal’s performance today rivals Brazil’s yesterday for the most impressive of the World Cup. At the least, it recalibrates the perception of Portugal, which — coincidence or not — played far better without Cristiano Ronaldo than with him. Speaking of Brazil, it’s on the opposite side of the bracket from Portugal, so the only time the nations could meet would be in the final (or the third-place match).
90′ + 2′ GOAL! Portugal take it to 6-1.
A beautiful bending shot to the far post by Rafael Leão. The Swiss goalkeeper, Yann Sommer, didn’t even watch it go in — not even a courtesy glance. He put his head down as the ball hurtled into the net.
84′ A goal for Ronaldo is negated by an offside flag. He was only five yards behind the last defender.
82′ Bruno Fernandes was down in pain, but he’s up and jogging upfield now. He’s tough. He’s a soccer player.
76′ Ronaldo immediately takes a free kick and drills it into the Swiss wall. Ouch.
75′ Pepe comes off and wraps the captain’s armband around Ronaldo’s arm. The crowd at Lusail erupts. Out comes the man of the match, Ramos, denying him a chance for a fourth (or fifth or sixth).
73′ Cristiano Ronaldo is off the bench, preparing to come in. Good to get some garbage-time minutes in.
67′ GOAL! And that’s a hat trick for Gonçalo Ramos! 5-1, Portugal.
62′ The crowd is chanting, “Ronaldo! Ronaldo” He remains on the bench.
Waiting by the far post, Akanji flicked in a loose ball after what appears to be a bit of confusion from the Portuguese. 4-1, Portugal.
58′ GOAL! This time, it’s Switzerland. Akanji collects a corner kick from Shaqiri and saves Switzerland from total embarrassment
Portugal has been unafraid to send its fullbacks up, and Guerreiro finished off a lovely transition sequence with a left-footed banger.
56′ GOAL! And that’s four for Portugal! Raphaël Guerreiro gets in on the fun.
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OK, so the coach got this one right.
51′ GOAL! 3-0, Portugal. Ramos gets his second!
48′ Corner to Portugal after Bernardo Silva’s cross hits the side of Manuel Akanji’s head, what I can presume was not the intended target. But the outswinger is cleared by the Swiss.
46′ We’re back, 45 minutes separating Portugal from a berth in the quarterfinals.
After their first goal, the Portuguese players sprinted to the corner flag to celebrate. In the middle of the merriment, as usual, stood Cristiano Ronaldo, though he was not the one who scored.
He was not even in the starting lineup for Portugal. Ronaldo, elite of the elite, began the knockout-stage match against Switzerland on the bench, sent there for insubordination, meager play or perhaps a combination of both.
In his place started Gonçalo Ramos, who on his first touch of consequence sent a left-footed wonder strike inside the near post. Portugal added another, on a thunderous header by Pepe in the 33rd minute, and Ronaldo ran over to congratulate him after that one, too.
Portugal leads by 2-0 with 45 minutes remaining, and though the possibility of a quarterfinal battle for Iberian Peninsula supremacy evaporated with Spain’s dismissal earlier today, a date with Morocco — a neighbor of sorts — on Saturday seems likely.
Ronaldo’s effectiveness has sagged from game to game, and he was rather frustrated to be replaced so early — in the 65th minute — of Portugal’s last group-stage match, against South Korea. So he watched from the bench, wearing the yellow pinnie of a substitute, as Ramos ripped the first goal and nearly scored a second just before halftime.
Had that one gone in from Ramos, a 21-year-old striker who plays for Benfica, Portugal’s coach, Fernando Santos, might have been moved to take him out in advance of the quarterfinal — for some fresher legs, perhaps those of Ronaldo.
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Ronaldo, again, is quick to join in the celebrations. If you had picked a Portugal player in his late 30s to score tonight before seeing the lineups, it probably wouldn’t have been Pepe.
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HALFTIME: Portugal 2, Switzerland 0. Portugal couldn’t have scripted that half better: a goal by Ramos, who started in place of Ronaldo, settles the nerves and ends the questions, and a second by Pepe presents Switzerland with a heckuva mountain to climb in the second half.
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45′ Portugal is just slicing up the Swiss like, well, I won’t use the pun. But João Felix just made a weaving run through about four defenders that was only derailed by his questionable decision not to just keep going and beat a couple more.
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43′ Ramos almost gets his second! Sprung behind the defense on a beautiful lead pass by Fernandes, he bears down on Sommer and drives a hard low shot that the goalkeeper dives left to push away.
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40′ Ronaldo is chewing his nails on the bench, but should he be nervous? Portugal has thumped the Swiss twice — center back Fabian Schär is now probably wishing it was him who didn’t start — and this night couldn’t be going better … for Portugal, and for Ronaldo. At this point he might even get in so Ramos can rest for the quarters.
38′ How in the name of Rui Patrício did Costa recover to make that second save on Remo Freuler?
What a thunderous header by Pepe, who celebrates his 71st birthday in style! (Editor’s Note: Pepe is much younger than both reporters making jokes.)
33′ GOAL! PEPE! Portugal leads 2-0.
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I apologize for making a pregame joke about Pepe’s age. Consider it withdrawn. Pepe, to his credit, might still be making plays when he IS 62 though.
32′ A curling free kick by Shaqiri dips wide, deflected by Diogo Costa. On the ensuing corner, Switzerland manages ... nothing. Still 1-0.
25′ Schär — the defender who had reasonably a good position on Ramos before The Goal — took a knock and a drink of water before heading off the field, where he remained for a minute or two before returning.
22′ Ramos had Bruno Fernandes to his right, but you can’t fault the kid for taking a shot there. He must think he can squeeze a ball through a keyhole now.
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Ramos blows on his fingers after the shot like an Old West gunman and it seems appropriate. That was past Sommer so fast he’ll probably see it for the first time on the highlights later.
Ramos put that high, near post. If this were hockey (yes, I know it isn’t), that would have sent the Gatorade bottle flying.
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Worth noting that a certain aging Portugal forward was part of that sprint to the corner flag celebration after the goal.
17′ GOAL! Portugal! Holy cats, what a goal by Ramos, who is starting in place of Ronaldo.
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Well that should take the pressure off Ramos quite nicely thankyouverymuch. One touch on the turn, a swivel around Fabian Schär, and a left-footed rocket into the roof of the net.
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Ruben Dias owes Pepe and Diogo Costa a small apology there after passing the ball directly to Xherdan Shaqiri at the top of the area. He’s lucky Shaqiri was as surprised as everyone else and couldn’t do anything with the gift.
11′ Switzerland’s Edimilson Fernandes sends in a cross toward the backpost, but it is too heavy and soars out of bounds. Good idea, though.
7′ Seeing a fair amount of pressure on the ball early from Bruno Fernandes, complicating the Swiss outlet from the back.
3′ Ramos was deemed offside before receiving a long pass, but it might have served a larger purpose. His ability to make runs behind the Swiss defense is going to be an important facet for Portugal.
1′ And we’re underway at Lusail Stadium.
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Tonight’s opponent, Switzerland, has made a habit of reaching the World Cup’s round of 16: This is the third straight tournament in which they have done it. Unfortunately, they have also made a habit of playing dreadfully at this point and then going out. They’ll be hoping to at least change that. Maybe Breel Embolo, against the savvy 62-year-old Pepe (OK I kid, he’s 39) can give the Swiss a puncher’s chance. We’ll see.
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A primer on the man of the moment who is not Ronaldo: Gonçalo Ramos, the 21-year-old striker who starts in his place, plays for the Portuguese giant Benfica, which he joined around his 12th birthday. He has represented Portugal at almost every age level, and is enjoying a breakthrough season for Benfica, with nine goals in 11 league games and five more in the Champions League, where Benfica has advanced to the round of 16.
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This is Ramos’s first start for Portugal, by the way. No pressure, buddy.
Just spitballing here, but: Is there any chance that Fernando Santos dropped Ronaldo from the starting lineup not because of his petulance the other night but because ... he hasn’t been that impressive? One goal, on a penalty, in three matches, all of which he left in the second half. It’s a risk, certainly, benching an elite player, but Portugal might be better off without him.
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Fifteen minutes before kickoff and the seats are filling of Portugal red and green. But as with most games, this is going to be a late-arriving crowd.
In the tunnel, Ronaldo appears late, filters through the assembled teams and the child mascots eagerly seeking handshakes and then emerges, to little notice, turns left and picks a seat in the middle of the Portugal bench. It is most definitely not where he wants to be.
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A huge cheer for Ronaldo’s name as Portugal’s subs are read and the starters go through their warm-up. He is just a disinterested observer at the moment, walking around, occasionally looking up at the big video screen as it plays footage of him celebrating a goal and offering the starters hugs. But as the warm-ups wind down, he’s also the first one down the tunnel, where he stops and squeezes out a smile to take a photo with a fan in a wheelchair.
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Cristiano Ronaldo being dropped by Portugal is both a stunner and not a surprise at all. His effectiveness has been dipping game by game, and he annoyed his coach with the way he acted when he was substituted in Portugal’s final group game. Still, he’s Ronaldo, and Portugal’s leaving him out when healthy was always going to be a shocker.
After seething at Cristiano Ronaldo’s petulant reaction to being substituted against South Korea, Portugal’s coach, Fernando Santos, opted to sit him for the team’s knockout-round clash today against Switzerland. Santos hinted at the possibility when asked on Monday about Ronaldo’s status, telling reporters in Qatar that he provides the lineup in the locker room and that he was not about to change.
“Otherwise,” he said, “the matter is over and everyone is available.”
Portugal vs. Switzerland
How to watch: 2 p.m. Eastern. Fox, Telemundo.
Even as he pouts about being substituted, Cristiano Ronaldo seems to be enjoying his time on the Arabian Peninsula so much that he just might stay there, to play for the Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr. Is it the desert landscape that could be swaying him or the gazillion dollars on offer? Who’s to say.
But before he scopes out potential lodging in Riyadh, Ronaldo sure would like to win a World Cup in Qatar. As ever, Portugal is loaded — Bruno Fernandes has anchored the attack, and João Cancelo the backline — and as ever, Portugal still manages to perplex.
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