Cristiano Ronaldo is on the bench while his deputy Goncalo Ramos paves the way for Portugal to the quarter-finals of the World Cup with three goals in a magnificent 6-1 win against Switzerland.
Cristiano Ronaldo smiled a little wryly at the end of a world champion gala, then quickly disappeared into the dressing room. His teammates celebrated the man who may have permanently replaced their superstar and captain, who had been demoted to the reserve. Goncalo Ramos was patted and hugged after his three goals for Portugal in the inspiring 6: 1 (2: 0) against Switzerland, he kissed the ball – and he remained modest.
“I don’t know what to say. It’s a dream come true,” said the 21-year-old Benfica SL forward, who scored in the 17th, 51st and 67th minutes against a completely overwhelmed opponent .
Is there a changing of the guard? “Ronaldo is our team captain, he is our captain. Others will decide whether I will play again next time,” said the outstanding deputy.
But: No Ronaldo? No problem! On the “Day Portugal surrendered to youth”, as the newspaper “Publico” put it, the superstar could only watch for a long time as the 2016 European champions warmed up in world champion condition for the quarter-finals against Morocco.
Ronaldo followed it with a smile, from the 73rd minute he was also allowed to take part, but his time may have expired after the Ramos Gala.
Ronaldo came on to applause
When Ronaldo finally came on as a substitute to thunderous applause, his side were already assured of Saturday’s quarter-finals. The Portuguese played without Ronaldo almost unleashed and as if from a single source, the meanwhile 2-0 (33rd) even the old defense warhorse Pepe scored, with his almost 40 years he is now the second oldest World Cup goalscorer behind Cameroonian Roger Milla.
And Ronaldo? He cheered enthusiastically. When Dortmund’s Raphael Guerreiro met Ramos (55th), exactly, he was warming up, after Manuel Akanji’s goal (58th) for Switzerland, he probably heard with pleasure that the audience was chanting him celebrated. It was balm for his wounded soul, as was the audience’s affection during and after his substitution. Rafael Leao (90 + 2) sealed the highest Swiss defeat at a World Cup.
The game against Morocco is the first quarter-finals for Portugal since the 2006 World Cup in Germany – Ronaldo celebrated the World Cup premiere and was one of the team that lost the game for third place against the DFB selection. For the Swiss, on the other hand, the round of the last eight remains a taboo zone: They last reached the quarter-finals in their own country in 1954.
Coach Fernando Santos had initiated the first excitement of the stormy Portuguese, even before kick-off. Ronaldo, who had all too obviously complained about his early substitution in the last group game, was on the bench. For the superstar (37), who has long since aged athletically, the same Ramos played, who had only one international match in his CV before the World Cup. His fourth mission: outstanding.
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