The noise was deafening. Rather than revelling in a stunning display from Portugal, the crowd at the Lusail Iconic Stadium were rather pathetically calling for Cristiano Ronaldo.
Luckily, Fernando Santos was having none of it. The Portugal coach had already benched his captain for his show of disrespect against South Korea, so he wasn’t about to bow to public opinion while Ronaldo’s replacement, Goncalo Ramos, was running riot.
The 21-year-old had already scored two goals, and created another, so there was no way Santos was taking him off. And just as well, too, as Ramos completed his hat-trick with a sublime finish to put the seal on a scintillating 6-1 demolition of Switzerland.
There were other fine goals, from Pepe, Raphael Guerreiro and Rafael Leao, and even a late cameo from Ronaldo. But even the legendary No.7 couldn’t upstage Portugal’s new striking sensation.
GOAL runs through all of the winners and losers from a night of high drama in Qatar… Source: goal.com
