The absence of Cristiano Ronaldo in the starting lineup (he was replaced in the 73rd minute) not only did not prevent Portugal show great football and triumphantly reach the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup, for the third time in its history (1966 and 2006), but this gave the 21-year-old Gonzalo Ramos the opportunity to flash his hat-trick (the first in the competition), in a decisive victory over Switzerland with 6-1 at Lusail Iconic Stadium.

Next Saturday (12.10, 17:00) Fernando Santos’ team will play against Morocco at the Al-Tuma Stadium in Doha, the winner of which will advance to the semi-finals of the tournament.

In the third meeting between the two teams this year (they played twice in the Nations League last June, each with one victory), Portugal showed character, imposed their “law” from the very beginning of the match and, although they had their own big star on on the bench (after 31 games, Ronaldo was not in the starting lineup for the national team, and coincidentally the last match he did not start was again against Switzerland, at Euro 2008, where the Swiss won 2-0), this did not stop her having by far her best match on the courts of Qatar and sending her message in all directions.

The close-knit team of Murat Yakin conceded two goals in the first 45 minutes in the previous three matches, and surrendered “unconditionally” in the second. At the recent Euro, they eliminated France in the round of 16, but were drawn by Portugal at the World Cup.

Overall, the Swiss are 0/5 in the first round of the World Cup play-offs, including today’s elimination. They lost 3-0 to Spain in 1994, were knocked out on penalties by Ukraine in 2006, lost 1-0 to Argentina in extra time in 2014 and Sweden in 2018 with the same score.

From the first minutes, both teams showed their readiness to play openly, not to attach importance to their defensive tasks and to “look for” counterattacks. Portugal, without Cristiano Ronaldo in their eleven, took the lead very quickly (17 minutes) with CR7 starter Gosalo Ramos.

The 21-year-old Benfica centre-forward, with a left foot that no one expected from a free-kick, “kicked” the ball into Sommer’s goal, which remained a “statue” under the goalposts.

The 1-0 score gave wings to Fernando Santos’ team, who were clearly stronger in the competition and managed to score a second goal in the 33rd minute, while two minutes earlier Switzerland had threatened Shaqiri with a direct foul.

From a corner from Fernandez (third assist in the tournament, he also has two goals, only Eusebio and José Torres contributed more goals in one tournament, both in 1966, 10 and 6 respectively) Pepe won two of his opponents and nailed to the head “wrote” 2-0.

The Iberians, who had a great night with Felix and were very threatening on the counter, could have ‘locked in’ qualifying from the first half if Sommer hadn’t made a 43′ save intervention in a 4-a-4 with Ramos.

The match became procedural in the second half as Gonzalo Ramos took advantage of an assist from Dalot in the 51st minute to extend the lead to 3-0 with a perfect finish.

The Santos team did not stop there. After great interaction between his players and a pass from Ramos Guerreiro, Sommer was executed by the latter in the 55th minute, adding triumphant proportions to Portugal’s 4-0 win.

After a 58th-minute corner kick and a header from Ramos, Akanji ended up on the second post to cut Switzerland’s lead to 4-1. But the night was… made for Gonzalo Ramos, who scored the first hat-trick of the World Cup in the 67th minute, finishing the game perfectly after Felix’s pass (5-1).

The icing on the cake was Leão’s stunning goal in the second minute of injury time, five minutes into the pitch.