Wayne Lumbasi
Portugal put in their best display of the World Cup so far in a scintillating 6-1 win against Switzerland in the last 16. With Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench, the superstar striker’s replacement scored a hat trick to lead Portugals win into the World Cup quarterfinals.
Ramos put Portugal in the lead with a heavy strike in the 17th minute, before their oldest member Pepe scored a powerful header in the 33rd minute to give them a 2-0 advantage at the halftime break.
Ramos scored his second goal in the 51st minute to increase the lead and Raphael Guerreiro soon made it 4-0 four minutes later. Switzerland responded with a goal by Manuel Akanji in the 58th minute, but the lead was too much for them in the end. Ramos then completed his hat-trick with a strike in the 67th minute, before substitute Rafael Leao wrapped it up for Portugal with a goal in stoppage time.
Portugal advanced to the quarterfinals for the third time, after 1966 and 2006, and will play Morocco on Saturday. Portugal coach Fernando Santos now has to decide whether to stick with Ramos or restore Ronaldo, the top scorer in men’s international soccer and one of the game’s greatest ever players.
