“Luxury exhibition by a team full of talent and youth” - Cristiano Ronaldo reacts to Portugal’s 6-1 rout of Switzerland
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo has reacted to their emphatic 6-1 win over Switzerland in the Round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup on December 6.
A Selecao completely dominated the tie at the Lusail Stadium despite their talisman being on the bench. Ronaldo's replacement for the match, Goncalo Ramos, opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a ferocious strike past Yann Sommer.
Portugal then doubled their lead as Pepe headed home from a corner. In the process, the veteran centre-back became the oldest goalscorer in the FIFA World Cup knockouts at 39 years and 283 days old.
39 - Portugal defender Pepe is now the oldest ever player to score in a knockout stage game at the #FIFAWorldCup (39 years & 283 days old). Appetite. https://t.co/jHpufdLLIF
Ramos added to his tally in the 51st minute with a neat finish before Raphael Guerreiro scored their fourth goal.
Manuel Akanji got one back for Switzerland in the 58th minute but Ramos completed his hat-trick in the 67th minute. He became the first player to score a hat-trick at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Rafael Leao topped it all off with a goal in stoppage time to seal Portugal's victory.
After the match, Cristiano Ronaldo shared a message on his Instagram celebrating Portugal progressing into the quarter-finals and wrote:
"Amazing day for Portugal, with a historic result in the biggest contest in world soccer. Luxury exhibition by a team full of talent and youth. Congratulations to our national team. The dream is alive! To the very end! Come on, Portugal!"
Fernando Santos' side will take on Morocco in the quarter-finals on Saturday, December 10.
Fernando Santos on leaving Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench in Portugal's FIFA World Cup win over Switzerland
Tuesday's clash against Switzerland was the first time Cristiano Ronaldo had started on the bench in a major tournament match for his country. It was certainly a massive decision by coach Fernando Santos, but it paid off as Goncalo Ramos scored an excellent hat-trick.
After the match, Santos was asked about his decision and stressed that there was no issue between Ronaldo and him. He said (via NDTV):
"I have a very close relationship I always have, known him since he was 19 at Sporting, and then for years here in the national squad. Ronaldo and I never confuse the human and personal aspect with the coach and player relationship. He is a very important player to have in the team."
The Real Madrid legend has scored just once in this FIFA World Cup, a penalty in A Selecao's 3-2 win over Ghana in their opening clash. Cristiano Ronaldo notably came on as a substitute against Switzerland and even had a goal ruled out for offside.