Portugal smashed Switzerland 6-1 at Lusail Iconic Stadium to storm into the 2022 World Cup quarter-finals.
Gonçalo Ramos was a surprise starter at the expense of Cristiano Ronaldo, the 21-year-old opening the scoring in the 17th minute before Pepe headed the Seleção into a 2-0 lead at half-time.
The goals kept flowing after the break, Ramos steering the ball through Yann Sommer and Raphaël Guerreiro bursting clear to score which made Manuel Akanji’s goal insignificant.
Ramos produced a clever finish to complete his hat-trick before Rafael Leão came off the bench with a trademark goal in added time.
Fernando Santos’ side have become the third Portuguese team to reach the World Cup quarter-finals. They will face Morocco at Al Thumama Stadium on 10 December.
PortuGOAL’s Matthew Marshall reports from Qatar
Santos shakes it up
Fernando Santos made eight changes to the side that started against South Korea. Rúben Dias came back to partner Pepe in central defence, Raphaël Guerreiro reclaiming his spot at left-back which saw João Cancelo drop to the bench and Diogo Dalot remain at right-back.
Otávio overcame the injury sustained against Ghana to start next to William in midfield which saw Rúben Neves drop to the bench.
Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes and João Félix returned to the starting side but there was no place for Cristiano Ronaldo, the leading international goalscorer on the bench with 21-year-old Gonçalo Ramos preferred up front.
Portugal in control
Breel Embolo was eager to get involved in the opening stages, going on a run across the edge of the 18-yard box before firing a shot that was blocked by Pepe. It wasn’t a sign of things to come.
Raphaël Guerreiro was enjoying a lot of open space, sending Bernardo Silva into the box where the playmaker chose to pass instead of try his luck from a tight angle.
Portugal continued to probe for openings down the left wing and were rewarded in the 17th minute. This time it was João Félix who wasn’t closed down with Gonçalo Ramos the recipient, taking a touch before unleashing an unstoppable left-footed shot past Yann Sommer.
The Seleção created more openings down Edmilson Fernandes’ side of the pitch, Otávio and Ramos with weak shots that were comfortably saved by Sommer.
Ruben Dias’ individual battle with Breel Embolo continued, avoiding a booking when he prevented the Swiss striker from breaking clear through the middle of the pitch.
Murat Yakin’s switch to a back three was not providing any results, Fernandes continuing to look like a fish out of water at right wing-back where he was continually targeted.
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Pepe doubles the advantage
Félix found more space in that area, his cross towards Ramos headed behind by Fabian Schär. From the resulting corner Portugal doubled their lead, Pepe getting between the Swiss centre-backs and rising highest to head the ball into the net.
Switzerland were struggling to make any inroads on the offensive end, Diogo Costa spilling Fernandes’ cross with Rúben Dias on hand to clear Remo Freuler’s effort.
Portugal went desperately close to extending their lead on the stroke of half time, Bruno Fernandes releasing Ramos who was denied by a fingertip save from Sommer.
Murat Yakin made a change at the break with Fabian Schär replaced by Eray Cömert. It made no difference with the contest over in the 51st minute.
Game over
Diogo Dalot played cat and mouse with Ruben Vargas before leaving the helpless winger for dead, his cross picking out Ramos who steered the ball through Sommer’s legs.
Denis Zakaria and Haris Seferovic replaced Remo Freuler and Djibril Sow in the 54th mintue but once again resistance was futile, Portugal making it 4-0 a minute later.
Otávio initiated the move on the left wing, Félix beating his man and releasing Ramos who laid it on a plate for the onrushing Raphaël Guerreiro, the left-back with time to pick his spot and blast the ball into the roof of the net.
Switzerland scored a consolation goal in the 58th minute when Ramos headed a corner towards the back post where an unmarked Manuel Akanji steered the ball home.
The Seleção had no intention of letting the Swiss side back into the contest, reestablishing their four goal advantage in the 67th minute.
Hat-trick hero
Bernardo Silva sent Félix into space, the forward laying the ball into the path of Ramos who dinked the ball over Sommer to secure a sensational hat-trick.
Bruno Fernandes went desperately close to getting on the end of Guerreiro’s cross before Santos made a triple substitution, bringing on Vitinha, Ricardo Horta and Cristiano Ronaldo for Otávio, Félix and Ramos.
Ronaldo scored from an offside position as Santos gave Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes an early exit, the pair making way for Rúben Neves and Rafael Leão.
Leão scored his second goal of the tournament in added time, the AC Milan winger scoring a trademark goal after cutting inside from the right wing and finding the top corner.
Gonçalo Ramos gets it done
Gonçalo Ramos was a surprise name in the starting line-up, Ronaldo’s outburst after being substituted in the South Korea match providing Fernando Santos with a reason to bench the international record goalscorer.
To say Ramos took his chance would be an understatement.
His first goal was a thing of beauty, the angle looking too tight before he fired a rocket past a stranded and helpless Yan Sommer. The Swiss shot stopper denied the 21-year-old from doubling his tally on the stroke of half-time, but he would come back for more after the break.
Ramos showed great anticipation to steer the ball through Sommer’s legs for his second goal and drew the keeper of his line before a clever dink into the net to secure a memorable hat-trick.
He was clearly on cloud nine in the post-match press conference, saying “Not even in my best dreams did I think about being in the starting team in the knockout phase”, before adding that his role model as a child was the player he replaced in the starting side, a certain Cristiano Ronaldo. No pressure then.
If Sommer and the world were not familiar with Gonçalo Ramos before this match, they certainly will be now. Wow.
Santos gets it spot on
It’s unlikely Fernando Santos would have benched Cristiano Ronaldo if the incident against South Korea hadn’t occurred. It did and the rest is history.
The Portuguese boss showed Ronaldo and the rest of his players who the boss is and that nobody in the team is untouchable.
In doing so and giving Ramos a unique opportunity in a World Cup knockout match that he took with aplomb, we are likely to have seen a significant turning point for Santos, Ronaldo and the Seleção.
Otávio was fit enough to return to the starting side and it’s easy to see why Santos rates him so highly in his system. He forms a great partnership next to William with his ability to cover ground, disrupt opposition attacks and initiate attacks all the attributes that are so valuable in a central midfielder.
Santos was understandably pleased with the performance, saying “We intend to have a team that plays with a lot of fluidity, and it was good match in those aspects. We circulated the ball well, played with trust, confidence and showed a lot of determination.
We showed unity in recovering the ball, overcame hurdles and today it worked well, other days it doesn’t work so well.”
One thing is certain, the jubilation from this result will be short lived and their attention will immediately turn to taking on Morocco.
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Portugal 6-1 Switzerland match reaction: “Not in my wildest dreams…” |
Third time lucky?
Portugal have reached the World Cup quarter-finals for the third time in history and for the second time in the 56 years. It’s a significant achievement and one that should not be undervalued.
Eusébio played a major role in 1966 when the tournament in England featured 16 teams. He scored four goals in the incredible 5-3 win against North Korea which helped to overturn an early 3-0 deficit.
The Seleção couldn’t overcome the hosts in the semi-finals, Bobby Charlton bagging a brace at Wembley with Eusébio’s 82nd minute strike not enough in a 2-1 defeat.
Portugal had to wait 40 years for another quarter-final appearance at the big dance. It came in 2006 after Maniche’s strike secured a 1-0 win against the Netherlands in the Round of 16, a game that became known as the ‘Battle of Nuremberg’ after referee Valentin Ivanov issued four red cards and 16 yellow cards.
The Seleção went one step further in Germany after getting past England, another infamous match where Wayne Rooney was deservedly sent off for stamping on Ricardo Carvalho’s balls. Ricardo became an unlikely hero in the penalty shootout where he denied Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher.
This time France prevented Portugal from reaching their first World Cup final, Luis Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo playing all 90 minutes in a match that Les Bleus won 1-0 courtesy of Zinédine Zidane’s penalty.
Despite all the world class players at Fernando Santos’ disposal, Portugal’s history at the World Cup record should never be forgotten. Reaching the last eight at the World Cup is difficult assignment and he deserves a lot of the credit.
Switzerland smashed
Murat Yakin had some issues in defence with Nico Elvedi unable to overcome his illness and Silvan Widmer unavailable. He replicated the formation employed by Ghana and Uruguay, starting with a back three after fielding a back four in all three group games.
Needless to say, it didn’t work.
Midfielder Edimilson Fernandes made just his second appearance at right back in 286 career games. He was an obvious player to target and Portugal did it well, many of their goals and opportunities coming down his side of the pitch.
Força
Line Ups
Portugal (4-2-3-1): Diogo Costa, Diogo Dalot, Pepe, Rúben Dias, Raphael Guerreiro, William Carvalho, Otávio (Vitinha, 74’), Bernardo Silva (Rúben Neves, 81’), Bruno Fernandes (Rafael Leão, 87’), João Félix (Ricardo Horta, 74’), Gonçalo Ramos (Cristiano Ronaldo, 74’)
Switzerland (5-3-2): Yann Sommer, Edimilson Fernandes, Manuel Akanji, Fabian Schaer (Eray Comert, 46’), Ricardo Rodríguez, Ramo Freuler (Denis Zakaria, 54’), Granit Xhaka, Xherdan Shaquiri, Djibril Sow (Haris Seferovic, 54’), Ruben Vargas (Noah Okafor, 66’), Breel Embolo (Ardon Jashari, 89’)
Goals
[1-0] Ramos, 17’
[2-0] Pepe, 33’
[3-0] Ramos, 51’
[4-0] Guerreiro, 55’
[4-1] Akanji, 58’
[5-1] Ramos, 67’
[6-1] Leão, 90 +2’