THE PORTUGUESE SIDE EXCELS WITHOUT CRISTIANO RONALDO & DEFEATS SWITZERLAND TO 6-1

THE PORTUGUESE SIDE EXCELS WITHOUT CRISTIANO RONALDO & DEFEATS SWITZERLAND TO 6-1

With The Decision To Drop Cristiano Ronaldo Ahead Of The Game, Portuguese Manager Fernando Santos Made A Very Brave Call.

By Rashmi Goel

At the Lusail Stadium during the World Cup on Tuesday night, Portugal took the lead after a six-goal third quarter-final win over Switzerland. The score ended 6-1 in favor of Portugal. Before the match, Portugal's manager Fernando Santos made a huge decision by dropping the captain Cristiano Ronaldo from the team. He made a brave decision that turned out to be well rewarded when Ronaldo's replacement, Goncalo Ramos, scored a brilliant hat-trick to subdue the Swiss and win the game for Team Portugal. There were other goals from Pepe, Raphael Guerreiro, and Rafael Leao, as well as one from Manuel Akanji for Switzerland. Having defeated Spain on penalties in the quarter-finals of the World Cup, Portugal will face Morocco in the next round.

It was almost inevitable that Ronaldo would be dropped for the match against Switzerland following his outburst against South Korea. In the aftermath of his substitution, the former Manchester United forward threw a tantrum, leaving Portugal manager Fernando Santos frustrated with the behavior of his player. In spite of the row, fans still found it difficult to comprehend when news of Ronaldo's axe emerged just before kick-off. For the first time since Euro 2008, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner did not start any major tournament since Tuesday night's match against Switzerland. A stunning goal by Ramos in just 17 minutes vindicated Santos' decision to replace Ronaldo. In response, the Benfica striker, 21, shifted the ball onto his left foot and unleashed an unexpected effort into the roof of Yann Sommer's goal.

As a further blow to Ronaldo, Ramos has now scored more goals in the knockout stages of the World Cup than the veteran forward. Since the start of the competition, Ronaldo has played 514 minutes without scoring a goal. In the 33rd minute, Portugal had doubled their lead when Pepe, who was captaining the team in the absence of Ronaldo, towered over the Switzerland defense in order to nod in from a corner kick. In light of the fact that Pepe turns 40 in February, his participation in the tournament is remarkable. Pepe's goal prompted Ronaldo to sprint from the bench to congratulate him. They played together for eight years at Real Madrid, which explains their friendship. The same thing was done by Ronaldo when Ramos scored the opening goal.

In the second half, Ramos managed to score his second goal within six minutes of the game's restart and put the game beyond doubt. A low cross from Diogo Dalot was met by Ronaldo's replacement, giving Santos once again a chance to prove his point. Rather than Joao Cancelo, this time it was Dalot who was selected over the Brazilian. In the fourth minute, Portugal added a goal to their score through Guerreiro, who fired into the roof of the net after a lovely team move ended with his strike. There was a chance for Switzerland to pull one back when Manchester City defender Akanji scored a goal off a corner, but Ramos made sure it was only a consolation goal. As the Benfica man completed his hat trick, he dinked the ball over Sommer, who was in desperate need of a goal. The job was finally done when Ronaldo came on in the 73rd minute and sealed the victory. In the final act of this magnificent Portugal performance, Leao scored the sixth goal in the last minute of the game, giving Portugal an impressive win.