Portugal thrashed Switzerland with a huge victory of 6-1 in the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 match at the Lusail Stadium, Qatar. While the win was electrifying, but more special was Goncalo Ramos’ hattrick.
As Ramos said the he ‘never dreamt’ of a hattrick in the World Cup, so did nobody else. It wasn’t expected at all to see Cristiano Ronaldo making way for Ramos in Portugal’s must-win game against Switzerland. Before the match, Portugal coach Fernando Santos made the headlines by dropping Ronaldo from the starting eleven. Who knew that this decision would ultimately benefit the team and Ramos would end up with a stunning hattrick.
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Santos had benched Ronaldo in the knockout match following Portugal captain’s unsavoury remark while being substituted in team’s final group game. On top of that, Ronaldo was replaced by a 21-year-old Ramos, who was sent to make debut in the Qatar World Cup. Ramos did justice to coach’s decision and contributed massively in team’s huge win over the Swiss.
Ramos was charged up from the beginning of the game and as a result, he netted the opener for Portugal in the 17th minute. Throughout the match, Ramos was in the spotlight as he tried hard to double his tally and then eventually did in the 51st minute of the game.
Soon after he stunned the opposition as he netted his hat-trick in the 67th minute. The celebrations touched the sky as he achieved the feat on his World Cup debut. Ramos has now become the first player to score a hat-trick on first start at a FIFA World Cup match since Germany’s Miroslav Klose. The legendary Germany striker had achieved the same feat in 2002.
It is to be noted that Ramos has also become the second youngest player (21 years and 169 days) to score a goal for Portugal at the FIFA World Cup as Ronaldo is still the youngest (21 years and 132 days).
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While talking about hattricks in a World Cup, Ramos is also the second youngest player to score a hat-trick in the knockout stage of the FIFA World Cup, only behind legendary footballer Pele, who achieved the milestone in 1958 when he was just 17.
Portugal will now be seen in action against Morocco in the quarterfinals with all eyes on Ramos and Ronaldo.
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