Without the demoted Ronaldo, Portugal outclasses Switzerland
Without Ronaldo, Portugal makes its best World Cup game by far – the highlights in the video
Portugal moves into the World Cup quarter-finals with a firework of goals against Switzerland. Superstar Cristiano Ronaldo sits on the bench for most of the game. His substitute shines with a three-pack. The highlights in the video.
It was a humiliation for the superstar. Cristiano Ronaldo is only on the bench in the World Cup round of 16 against Switzerland. Portugal also works magic without him and humiliates Switzerland. After the 6-1, Morocco is waiting in the quarter-finals.
Mith his best tournament performance to date and superstar Cristiano Ronaldo in an unfamiliar wildcard role, Portugal made it into the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the first time since 2006. Coach Fernando Santos’ team won after a convincing performance 6-1 (2-0) against the disappointing Switzerland. Gonçalo Ramos, who replaced Ronaldo in the starting eleven, scored with a hat-trick (17th/51st/67th minute), substitute captain Pepe (33rd), BVB professional Raphael Guerreiro (55th) and Rafael Leão (90th + 2). the goals for the 2016 European champions. Ronaldo only came on in the 73rd minute.
For Switzerland, Manuel Akanji’s goal (58th) was not enough, the Swiss were eliminated for the third time in a row in the World Cup round of 16. Portugal meets Morocco in the quarter-finals on Saturday (4 p.m.) after surprisingly defeating Spain on penalties.
Goncalo Ramos was the man of the night with three goals
Which: AFP/FABRICE COFFRINI
The big question before the game was: will Santos actually do without Ronaldo? The 68-year-old decided to bench the superstar and instead gave the 21-year-old Ramos a chance. The day before, Santos had reprimanded Ronaldo, who has been in the spotlight for days because of the allegedly imminent move to the Saudi club Al-Nassr, for his frustration with the replacement against South Korea. The 37-year-old was not in Portugal’s starting XI for the first time since 2008 and after 31 games in a major tournament.
Ramos perfectly replaces Ronaldo
And Santos’ ‘strategic’ decision quickly paid off after a cautious start from both sides. After a good quarter of an hour, Ramos from Benfica Lisbon hit the goal corner from an acute angle, Swiss keeper Yann Sommer did not look good. Pepe, almost twice his age, then headed in after a corner to make it 2-0. At 39 years and 283 days, he is now the oldest goalscorer in a knockout game at a World Cup.
Ronaldo cheered with his team-mates in his substitute shirt, and the non-club attacking player followed the rest of the game from the substitutes’ bench, mostly motionless or biting his fingernails. As soon as Ronaldo was shown on the big video screen, a murmur went through the almost 90,000 spectator capacity of the World Cup final stadium. In the middle of the second half, the fans chanted for their idol to come on – and Coach Santos fulfilled their wish a little later. But a supposed Ronaldo goal to make it 6-1 was ruled out due to offside (84′).
Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench
Which: AFP/PAUL ELLIS
Even before the superstar came on, Portugal showed by far their best performance at this World Cup. Playful, sure of the ball and with beautiful combinations, the Iberians dismantled the Swiss defense. Shortly before the break, Ramos could have scored his second goal, but Sommer was strong against the youngster (43rd).
Switzerland with a desolate performance
The opponent, praised by national coach Murat Yakin as “one of the best Swiss national teams” before the tournament, was largely unregistered. A free kick from Xherdan Shaqiri next to the goal (30′) and a header from Remo Freuler (38′), which Portugal’s Diogo Dalot saved on the line for keeper Diogo Costa, were the only chances at first. The Confederates were particularly vulnerable on their right side after Mainz’s Edimilson Fernandes was brought in for his club colleague Silvan Widmer who had a cold.
And Portugal didn’t have enough. In the second half, too, the 2006 World Cup fourth-placed player continued to play forward. Again the strong Ramos through the legs of Sommer and Guerreiro with his first goal of the tournament scored against the now defensively overwhelmed Swiss. The 1: 4 by the former Dortmund player Akanji changed nothing at the end of the game, especially since Ramos even scored his third goal a little later. Leão put the finishing touch with a fine flick in added time.
