Hero of Portugal Goncalo Ramos ‘I Never dreamed’ Of World Cup Hat-trick
The 21-year-old striker was handed a surprise start ahead of five-times Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo and rewarded coach Fernando Santos with a brilliant match-winning display. Watch the complete match highlights of Portugal vs Switzerland here.
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Hero of Portugal Goncalo Ramos ‘I Never dreamed’ Of World Cup Hat-trick
Portugal’s hat-trick hero Goncalo Ramos said he had not even dreamt of starting a World Cup knockout match, let alone scoring three in his first start in the tournament. The 21-year-old striker was handed a surprise start ahead of five-times Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo and rewarded coach Fernando Santos with a brilliant match-winning display.“Not even in my wildest dreams did I think of making my first start in a World Cup knockout game and scoring three goals,” he said.
He also added “But we have to think game by game and prepare for the game (quarter-final with Morocco). This result doesn’t matter now. We’re going to go all out in the next game.”
Ramos was only two years old when Ronaldo made his debut for Portugal and has often spoken of his admiration for the 37-year-old. The man of the match at the Lusail Stadium was asked how the dressing room — and Ronaldo — had reacted to the surprise team selection from Santos.
“Honestly no one in the team talked about it. Cristiano, as captain, did what he does, he helped, he talked to us, not only to myself but to my teammates,” he said.
“Cristiano Ronaldo has always been a role model, he is an idol for many. I also like (Robert) Lewandowski and (Zlatan) Ibrahimovic,” he added.
Ramos was only making his fourth appearance for the national side, having played ten minutes across two games in the group stage. He only made his debut on November 17 in a pre-World Cup friendly against Nigeria, coming on as a 67th-minute substitute and promptly scoring 15 minutes later with the fourth goal in a 4-0 win.
Gonçalo Matias Ramos born 20 June 2001 is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Primeira Liga club Benfica and the Portugal national team.
Born in Olhão, Ramos came through Benfica’s youth academy. He began playing for Benfica B in 2019 and was promoted to the first team a year later. Following three seasons with the first team, Ramos established himself as an integral player for the club.
Ramos is a former Portugal youth international, representing his country at various levels, including the under-19 team that finished as runners-up at the 2019 UEFA European Championship and the under-21 team that finished as runners-up at the 2021 European Championship. He made his senior international debut in 2022.
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro GOIH ComM (Portuguese pronunciation: [kɾiʃˈtjɐnu ʁɔˈnaɫdu]; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Manchester United and captains the Portugal national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Ronaldo has won five Ballon d'Or awards and four European Golden Shoes, the most by a European player. He has won 32 trophies in his career, including seven league titles, five UEFA Champions Leagues, and the UEFA European Championship. Ronaldo holds the records for most appearances (183), goals (140), and assists (42) in the Champions League, goals in the European Championship (14), international goals (117), and international appearances by a European (191). He is one of the few players to have made over 1,100 professional career appearances, and has scored over 800 official senior career goals for club and country.
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro GOIH ComM born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Manchester United and captains the Portugal national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Ronaldo has won five Ballon d'Or awards[note 3] and four European Golden Shoes, the most by a European player. He has won 32 trophies in his career, including seven league titles, five UEFA Champions Leagues, and the UEFA European Championship. Ronaldo holds the records for most appearances (183), goals (140), and assists (42) in the Champions League, goals in the European Championship (14), international goals (117), and international appearances by a European (191). He is one of the few players to have made over 1,100 professional career appearances, and has scored over 800 official senior career goals for club and country.
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro GOIH ComM (Portuguese pronunciation: [kɾiʃˈtjɐnu ʁɔˈnaɫdu]; born 5 February 1985) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Premier League club Manchester United and captains the Portugal national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Ronaldo has won five Ballon d'Or awards and four European Golden Shoes, the most by a European player. He has won 32 trophies in his career, including seven league titles, five UEFA Champions Leagues, and the UEFA European Championship. Ronaldo holds the records for most appearances (183), goals (140), and assists (42) in the Champions League, goals in the European Championship (14), international goals (117), and international appearances by a European (191). He is one of the few players to have made over 1,100 professional career appearances, and has scored over 800 official senior career goals for club and country.
The FIFA assigns a three-letter country code (more properly termed a trigram or trigraph) to each of its member and non-member countries. These are the official codes used by the FIFA and its continental confederations (AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, OFC and UEFA) as name abbreviations of countries and dependent areas, in official competitions.
Fernando Manuel Fernandes da Costa Santos GOM (born 10 October 1954) is a Portuguese professional football manager and former player who played as a defender. He is the manager of the Portugal national team.
He amassed Primeira Liga totals of 161 games and two goals over eight seasons, almost always with Estoril. After retiring, he worked as a coach for several decades, starting out at his main club in 1988.
Santos managed Portugal's Big Three, winning five major titles with Porto. For the better part of the 2000s he worked in Greece, mainly with AEK Athens and PAOK. In 2010, he was appointed at the helm of the Greece national team, coaching them in a World Cup and one European Championship. Subsequently, he led Portugal to victory in the Euro 2016 and the 2019 Nations League, which were the first two major titles in the nation's history.
