Portugal are through to the quarterfinals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup after an emphatic 6-1 victory over Switzerland in the last round of 16 fixture at the Lusail Iconic Stadium on Tuesday night.
It was a dominant performance for ‘The Selection’ which saw Cristiano Ronaldo starting from the bench, replaced by Gonçalo Ramos who stole the show, scoring a hattrick in what was his first senior national team start for Portugal.
Ramos put Portugal ahead within the first 20 minutes of the game with a powerful shot after a turn inside the Switzerland 18-yard area before Pepe doubled the lead with a powerful header just a few minutes shy off the half hour mark.
Pepe at 39, became the oldest player to score in the knockout stages of the FIFA World Cup.
Ramos netted his brace of the match barely six minutes into the second to put Portugal three-nil up before Raphael Guerreiro extended the lead four minutes later.
Manchester City’s defender pulled one back for Switzerland with an header just before the hour time mark. But Ramos widened the margin again with his 67th minute strike to struck his treble of the match.
The Benfica forward also became the first player to net a hat-trick in this FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Substitute Rafael Leão scored a fantastic curler in the added time to secure the victory for Portugal, sending them into the last eight for the first time since 2006.
Portugal will now lock horns with the only remaining African country in the tournament, Morocco, for a place in the semifinals. The Atlas Lions defeated Spain 3-0 in penalty shootout after both the regulation time and extra time ended goalless.
