Portugal hammer Switzerland to seal a place in the quarters

Cristiano Ronaldo's replacement for the match, Gonçalo Ramos hit a hat-trick as Portugal hammered Switzerland 6-1 in their Last-16 match at the Lusail Stadium to seal a place in quarter-finals of the World Cup.

Action: Portugal manager Fernando Santos made the bold decision to drop Cristiano Ronaldo for the game, but Portugal ended producing one of the best performances so far at this World Cup.

After a scrappy start, João Félix played the ball to Gonçalo Ramos and with his left foot he unleashed a thunderbolt past Yann Sommer and into the top corner to put Portugal in front in the 18th minute.

On the half-hour mark, veteran Pepe rose highest and met the ball perfectly from a Bruno Fernandes' corner to put the tie beyond reach in the first half. 

The Portuguese came back strong into the second-half, as they strengthened their lead five minutes later when Ramos grabbed his brace by poking home at the near post from Diogo Dalot's low cross.

Benfica's forward then turned provider when he drove into space and slid Raphaël Guerreiro into the box before the Borussia Dortmund left-back fired high into the net to make it 4-0 with 55 minutes on the clock.

On the hour mark, Ramos' attempted clearance at a corner flicked the ball onto Manuel Akanji at the far post, and the Man City defender tapped the ball home to pull on back for Switzerland.

The 21-year-old completed his hat-trick - the first hat-trick of the 2022 World Cup - with a lovely chip over an onrushing Sommer after a great team move.

Substitute Rafael Leão in stoppage time put the icing on the cake as the AC Milan forward added a sixth with a superb curler into the back of the net.

The result sees Portugal reach the quarter-finald of the World Cup for the first time since their semi-final appearance in 2006 and will now face Morocco, who beat Spain on penalties earlier.

Man of the match: Gonçalo Ramos. Imagine replacing one of the best players ever in a World Cup game and scoring a hat-trick in your first international start. One night to remember for the 21-year-old forward. 

Moment of the match: Ramos' first goal. With the pressure of taking Ronaldo's place, he had literally all eyes on him and responded in a tremendous fashion: a cracking finish from a tough angle to put his nation in front of the tie.

Reaction: Fernando Santos: "It was a good performance, a great game, the players need to be praised. They had a very good performance, but now we have to get back down to earth. It was great, it was excellent, but now we have one more game in four days."

xG: Portugal (2.36) 6-1 (1.37) Switzerland

Stat of the Day: Pepe is now the oldest ever player to score in a knockout stage game at the World Cup (39 years & 283 days old).