Portugal 6-1 Switzerland: 21-Year-Old Ramos Replaces Ronaldo and Scores Hat-Trick (2022)

# Portugal 6-1 Switzerland: The Kid Who Stole Ronaldo's Starting Spot

December 6, 2022. World Cup Round of 16. Portugal vs Switzerland. One hour before kickoff: Cristiano Ronaldo was placed on the bench. A twenty-one-year-old kid walked onto the pitch wearing what should have been his starting position. Gonçalo Ramos. His third cap for the national team. His first start.

Seventeenth minute. Ramos turned and blasted the ball. 1-0. Fiftieth minute. Another goal. Sixty-seventh minute. Hat-trick. A twenty-one-year-old kid, making his first start in a World Cup knockout match, scored a hat-trick. Ronaldo watched from the bench. The cameras kept cutting to him—he clapped, genuinely. But if you looked closely at his eyes, they held the entire story of a man who had aged four years. After the match, Ramos said Ronaldo told him in the dressing room: "You only get one chance to be yourself. Don't waste it."