Wednesday, December 7, 2022

parte do PROBLEMA e não da solução

 

Cristiano Ronaldo Benched in Portugal’s World Cup Game Against Switzerland

After Ronaldo’s petulant reaction to being substituted against South Korea, Portugal’s coach opted to bench him against Switzerland.

Cristiano Ronaldo was substituted at the end of Portugal’s match against South Korea, and will not start against Switzerland.
Credit...Matthew Childs/Reuters
Cristiano Ronaldo was substituted at the end of Portugal’s match against South Korea, and will not start against Switzerland.

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.”

Though it keeps one of the world’s elite scorers on the bench to start, the measure could be as unifying, perhaps, as it is punitive — proof that Santos will not tolerate, or reward, actions that he perceives as potentially jeopardizing the team. Ronaldo came out late in Portugal’s first two group-stage matches, but he was replaced in the 65th minute of its 2-1 loss to South Korea and responded by raising a finger to his lips, as if he were gesturing for quiet.

Here are the lineups, with Pepe elevated to the captaincy:

Portugal: Diogo Costa; Diogo Dalot, Rúben Dias, Pepe, Raphael Guerriero; Otávio, William Carvalho, Bruno Fernandes; Bernardo Silva, Gonçalo Ramos, João Félix.

Switzerland: Yann Sommer; Edimilson Fernandes, Fabian Schär, Manuel Akanji, Ricardo Rodríguez; Remo Freuler, Granit Xhaka; Xherdan Shaqiri, Djibril Sow, Ruben Vargas; Breel Embolo.

Ben Shpigel is a senior editor on the Live desk. Previously, he had covered sports for The Times since 2005. @benshpigel

World Cup


No Ronaldo, no problem for Portugal

 



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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Portugal

Round of 16

Full Time

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Switzerland
  1. Portugal vs. Switzerland
    Portugal vs. Switzerland
    Patricia De Melo Moreira/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
  2. Portugal vs. Switzerland
    Portugal vs. Switzerland
    Ali Haider/EPA, via Shutterstock
  3. Switzerland
    Hannah Mckay/Reuters
  4. Gonçalo Ramos
    Buda Mendes/Getty Images
  5. Portugal vs. Switzerland
    Frank Augstein/Associated Press
  6. Portugal vs. Switzerland
    Fabrice Coffrini/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
  7. Portugal vs. Switzerland
    Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
  8. Portugal vs. Switzerland
    John Sibley/Reuters
  9. Portugal vs. Switzerland
    Frank Augstein/Associated Press
  10. Portugal vs. Switzerland
    Buda Mendes/Getty Images
  11. Portugal vs. Switzerland
    Alex Pantling/Getty Images
  12. Portugal vs. Switzerland
    Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Andrew Das

Reporting from Qatar

His name is Gonçalo Ramos. The spotlight is now his.

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A Portuguese player in a red-and-green jersey posing with two fingers from each hand pressed together. His teammate is running to him from behind.
Portugal cruised to a 6-1 victory over Switzerland, thanks in part to a hat trick by Gonçalo Ramos.Credit...Michael Steele/Getty Images
A Portuguese player in a red-and-green jersey posing with two fingers from each hand pressed together. His teammate is running to him from behind.

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.

Ronaldo was dropped from Portugal’s lineup for its game against Switzerland. Gonçalo Ramos, a 21-year-old striker from the Portuguese team Benfica, got the nod instead, earning his first start for Portugal and the unenviable job of replacing the most prolific scorer in his country’s history. In a little more than an hour, Ramos achieved an even more remarkable feat: He made an entire nation, and an entire World Cup, wonder why he hadn’t been starting over Ronaldo all along.

“Not in my biggest dreams,” Ramos said, “did I think about starting in the knockout phase.”

Imposing himself with a veteran’s cool and a gunslinger’s goal celebration, Ramos scored a 67-minute hat trick to power Portugal to a 6-1 victory over Switzerland, and to a date with Morocco in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

The first goal was probably the best of the bunch: a quick turn in the penalty area and a shot fired so hard and so fast that it was past goalkeeper Yann Sommer before he could get his hands in its way. Or maybe he just thought better of it.

Ronaldo was off like a shot when the ball hit the roof of the net, sprinting off the bench and toward the corner flag, smiling wide, disappearing into a pile of teammates and substitutes.

Ronaldo had not wanted it to go like this, clearly. He had strolled through the pregame warm-up, doing little to disguise his disappointment in his benching and even less to get loose for the game. But the goal seemed to change something in him, and he couldn’t hide it.

He celebrated again when Pepe doubled Portugal’s lead later in the first half, running again to join his teammates in a group hug, and then stood and clapped politely when Ramos’s second came six minutes after halftime, a one-time finish that turned in a low centering pass from Rúben Dias. Ramos’s third arrived about 15 minutes later, placed on a tee for him on a dead run by João Felix.

Raphaël Guerreiro and Rafael Leão added to Portugal’s goal haul as Switzerland’s defense and its World Cup campaign were left in tatters. But there will be little talk beyond what Ramos did, and what Ronaldo did not.

A large portion of the crowd had turned up expecting to see him, after all. So as the clock ticked past the hour mark and Switzerland valiantly scrambled in a goal to cut the deficit to 4-1, the fans called for Portugal’s victory cigar. “Ro-nall-do! Ro-nall-do!” they chanted over and over.

Santos, annoyed at the lost shutout and the lax defending that had allowed it, tuned it out as he prowled the grass in front of the dugout. He shouted. He pointed. He scowled. He did not, however, summon Ronaldo.

When Ramos got his third goal, though — Portugal’s fifth — the old coach gave in to the crowd and the sentiment and the story line. Ronaldo was told to get his jersey on, to get ready. With a thin smile, he strode forward, accepted the captain’s armband from Pepe, stepped across the touch line and bathed in the delayed adoration.

He then nearly gave the fans what they wanted, finding the net on a breakaway 10 minutes after coming on. But he had been yards offside at the start of his run, and the goal was correctly scrubbed away. A second chance three minutes later momentarily lifted the fans off their seats again, but this time Ronaldo failed to put it away, and he was offside again anyway.

It hardly mattered at that point. When the whistle blew he shook some hands and offered a few waves and made a beeline for the tunnel, not even breaking stride when he passed Santos, his coach. There was nothing to say anyway, really.

Asked afterward if he was happy, he replied with a smile, “Of course, of course — Portugal won.”

Santos said later that there was no issue inside the team, or with his star player. “I have a close relationship with him,” he said. “I always have.” They have known each other since Ronaldo was 19, he pointed out, and they never “misinterpret” each other.

“I have three players I fully trust,” he said of the forwards Ronaldo, Ramos and André Silva, “and for each match I will use whatever I believe is the best.”

He didn’t really have to explain any of his decisions on Tuesday. The job was done. Ramos had scored three times. Portugal had won. It now has at least one more game to play, and maybe another, and then another after that. Portugal may even play them with its most famous striker on the bench, and with its most productive one on the field.

And no one, not even Ronaldo, can complain about that.

Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

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.

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Credit...Jose Sena Goulao/EPA, via Shutterstock
Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

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).

Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

90′ + 2′ GOAL! Portugal take it to 6-1.

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Credit...Buda Mendes/Getty Images
Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

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.

Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

84′ A goal for Ronaldo is negated by an offside flag. He was only five yards behind the last defender.

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Credit...Buda Mendes/Getty Images
Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

82′ Bruno Fernandes was down in pain, but he’s up and jogging upfield now. He’s tough. He’s a soccer player.

Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

76′ Ronaldo immediately takes a free kick and drills it into the Swiss wall. Ouch.

Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

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).

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Credit...Rolex Dela Pena/EPA, via Shutterstock
Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

73′ Cristiano Ronaldo is off the bench, preparing to come in. Good to get some garbage-time minutes in.

Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

67′ GOAL! And that’s a hat trick for Gonçalo Ramos! 5-1, Portugal.

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Credit...Buda Mendes/Getty Images
Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

62′ The crowd is chanting, “Ronaldo! Ronaldo” He remains on the bench.

Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

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.

Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

58′ GOAL! This time, it’s Switzerland. Akanji collects a corner kick from Shaqiri and saves Switzerland from total embarrassment

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Credit...Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

Portugal has been unafraid to send its fullbacks up, and Guerreiro finished off a lovely transition sequence with a left-footed banger.

Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

56′ GOAL! And that’s four for Portugal! Raphaël Guerreiro gets in on the fun.

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Credit...Buda Mendes/Getty Images
Andrew Das
Dec. 6, 2022

Reporting from Qatar

OK, so the coach got this one right.

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Credit...Michael Steele/Getty Images
Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

51′ GOAL! 3-0, Portugal. Ramos gets his second!

Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

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.

Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

46′ We’re back, 45 minutes separating Portugal from a berth in the quarterfinals.

Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

Halftime: No Ronaldo, no problem for Portugal.

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Gonçalo Ramos and Pepe scored Portugal’s two first-half goals.
Credit...Patricia De Melo Moreira/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Gonçalo Ramos and Pepe scored Portugal’s two first-half goals.

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.

Andrew Das
Dec. 6, 2022

Reporting from Qatar

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.

Andrew Das
Dec. 6, 2022

Reporting from Qatar

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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Credit...Peter Cziborra/Reuters
Andrew Das
Dec. 6, 2022

Reporting from Qatar

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.

Andrew Das
Dec. 6, 2022

Reporting from Qatar

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.

Andrew Das
Dec. 6, 2022

Reporting from Qatar

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.

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Credit...Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

38′ How in the name of Rui Patrício did Costa recover to make that second save on Remo Freuler?

Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

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.)

Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

33′ GOAL! PEPE! Portugal leads 2-0.

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Credit...John Sibley/Reuters
Andrew Das
Dec. 6, 2022

Reporting from Qatar

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.

Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

32′ A curling free kick by Shaqiri dips wide, deflected by Diogo Costa. On the ensuing corner, Switzerland manages ... nothing. Still 1-0.

Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

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.

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Credit...Lars Baron/Getty Images
Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

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.

Andrew Das
Dec. 6, 2022

Reporting from Qatar

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.

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Credit...Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

Ramos put that high, near post. If this were hockey (yes, I know it isn’t), that would have sent the Gatorade bottle flying.

Andrew Das
Dec. 6, 2022

Reporting from Qatar

Worth noting that a certain aging Portugal forward was part of that sprint to the corner flag celebration after the goal.

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Credit...Patricia De Melo Moreira/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

17′ GOAL! Portugal! Holy cats, what a goal by Ramos, who is starting in place of Ronaldo.

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Credit...Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Andrew Das
Dec. 6, 2022

Reporting from Qatar

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.

Andrew Das
Dec. 6, 2022

Reporting from Qatar

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.

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Credit...Fabrice Coffrini/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

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.

Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

7′ Seeing a fair amount of pressure on the ball early from Bruno Fernandes, complicating the Swiss outlet from the back.

Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

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.

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Credit...Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters
Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

1′ And we’re underway at Lusail Stadium.

Andrew Das
Dec. 6, 2022

Reporting from Qatar

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.

Andrew Das
Dec. 6, 2022

Reporting from Qatar

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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Credit...John Sibley/Reuters
Andrew Das
Dec. 6, 2022

Reporting from Qatar

This is Ramos’s first start for Portugal, by the way. No pressure, buddy.

Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

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.

Andrew Das
Dec. 6, 2022

Reporting from Qatar

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.

Andrew Das
Dec. 6, 2022

Reporting from Qatar

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.

Image
Credit...Noushad Thekkayil/EPA, via Shutterstock
Andrew Das
Dec. 6, 2022

Reporting from Qatar

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.

Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

Ronaldo is not in the starting lineup for Portugal.

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Cristiano Ronaldo was substituted at the end of Portugal’s match against South Korea, and will not start against Switzerland.
Credit...Matthew Childs/Reuters
Cristiano Ronaldo was substituted at the end of Portugal’s match against South Korea, and will not start against Switzerland.

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.”

Though it keeps one of the world’s elite scorers on the bench to start, the measure could be as unifying, perhaps, as it is punitive — proof that Santos will not tolerate, or reward, actions that he perceives as potentially jeopardizing the team. Ronaldo came out late in Portugal’s first two group-stage matches, but he was replaced in the 65th minute of its 2-1 loss to South Korea and responded by raising a finger to his lips, as if he were gesturing for quiet.

Here are the lineups, with Pepe elevated to the captaincy:

Portugal: Diogo Costa; Diogo Dalot, Rúben Dias, Pepe, Raphael Guerriero; Otávio, William Carvalho, Bruno Fernandes; Bernardo Silva, Gonçalo Ramos, João Félix.

Switzerland: Yann Sommer; Edimilson Fernandes, Fabian Schär, Manuel Akanji, Ricardo Rodríguez; Remo Freuler, Granit Xhaka; Xherdan Shaqiri, Djibril Sow, Ruben Vargas; Breel Embolo.

Ben Shpigel
Dec. 6, 2022

Portugal has plenty of weapons to take on Swiss.

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Even with Cristiano Ronaldo starting on the bench, Portugal has plenty of world-class attackers ready to go against Switzerland.
Credit...Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
Even with Cristiano Ronaldo starting on the bench, Portugal has plenty of world-class attackers ready to go against Switzerland.

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.

As evidence, examine its late defensive breakdown in a loss to South Korea.

Anything less than a full output against Switzerland, whose side is as steady and reliable as its nation’s famed watches, can send Portugal careering out.

Andrew Das
Dec. 5, 2022, 11:52 a.m. ET

Reporting from Qatar

Here’s How Extra Time Works at the World Cup

Tie games are inevitable at the World Cup, especially in the later stages when the stakes rise and the sinews stretch.

But in the knockout stages, every game must produce a winner. That means if a game is tied after 90 minutes, it will go to extra time. Here’s how it works.

After a short break, the teams will play two 15-minute extra periods, including any minutes of added time the officials deem necessary. There is no sudden death: Both periods are played to their conclusion, regardless of how many goals are scored (or not).

If the teams are still tied after extra time, they go to a penalty kick shootout.

In that, a coin flip decides which side goes first. The teams then pick five penalty takers, and they alternate attempts until a winner is determined. That can take as few as three rounds of attempts — if, for example one team converts its first three and its opponent misses all three — or as many as … well … as many as it takes.

That can sometimes take a while, and the longer it goes, the more fun it gets.

Except for the people involved.

Victor Mather
Nov. 22, 2022, 5:42 a.m. ET

What is offside? We’ll help you understand.

Video

Novice fans don’t understand it. Longtime fans claim to understand it, but then openly disagree about it. Referees and their assistants are trained to spot it but often have to turn to replays to make sure they’ve got it right.

The actor Ryan Reynolds — who, remember, owns a soccer team — admits he doesn’t understand it but has sought cover by saying, “in fairness, nobody understands the offside rule.”

But now you will as we examine a classic example and some trickier scenarios below.