A rampant Portugal completed the lineup for the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals, after comfortably beating Switzerland 6-1 at the Lusail Iconic Stadium on Tuesday night, with Gonçalo Ramos grabbing a hat-trick.
Seleção das Quinas have now set up an intriguing battle with Morocco in the last eight after the North African side beat 2010 champions Spain in a penalty shoot-out earlier today.
Despite starting the game with Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench, it did not stop Portugal from taking the lead when 21-year-old Gonçalo Ramos, in his first start, fired home a well-struck shot that squeezed into the goal in the 17th minute.
That opening goal had come slightly against the run of play, as the Swiss had created a number of early opportunities in the opening half.
But it was the Portuguese who made their chances count, taking control going forward, and Pepe made it 2-0 in the 33rd minute, the 39-year-old veteran rising well at a corner to head past Yann Sommer.
At the break, it remained 2-0, with the Portuguese ending the half strongly and coming close to adding the scoreline.
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That confidence continued in the second half, and Ramos added his second, and Portugal’s third in the 51st minute, a smart finish to Diogo Dalot’s cross.
Five minutes later it was 4-0, Raphaël Guerreiro firing in from the left and leaving Sommer with no chance.
Switzerland pulled one back in the 58th minute when the ball from a corner fell to Manuel Akanji at the far post, and he was able to tap in to make it 4-1.
But Portugal weren’t done and the young hero of the night, Ramos, completed a fantastic hat-trick in the 67th minute, as he raced into box before chipping over Sommer to make it 5-1.
Ronaldo came on with twenty minutes to go, and while he had the ball in the back of the net in the 84th minute, it was ruled off-side.
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The Portuguese added their sixth in stoppage time, when substitute Rafael Leão placed his shot from just inside the area, into the far right corner.
Portugal into the quarter-finals for the first time since 2006.
