How Portugal star Goncalo Ramos replaced Ronaldo and Nunez

Portugal have discovered a brand new star, as Goncalo Ramos introduced himself on the worldwide stage with a hat trick within the 6-1 win over Switzerland within the World Cup spherical of 16.

Ramos, 21, had solely performed 23 minutes of worldwide soccer — scoring a objective and grabbing an help in a 4-0 pleasant win in opposition to Nigeria in November 2022 — earlier than being taken to Qatar 2022. However, he wanted little time to make his mark on the World Cup on Tuesday night time as he was named as a alternative for Cristiano Ronaldo, who was dropped after an altercation with coach Fernando Santos.

The Benfica striker got here off the bench briefly within the video games in opposition to Ghana and Uruguay, however mustered solely 10 minutes in these video games earlier than being an unused substitute in opposition to South Korea.

But, thrust into the primary XI to interchange Ronaldo in opposition to Switzerland for his full worldwide debut, he opened the scoring within the seventeenth minute on the Lusail stadium with a rocket strike inside goalkeeper Yann Sommer’s close to publish.

After half-time, Ramos struck once more as he acquired on the tip of defender Diogo Dalot’s low cross within the 51st minute, earlier than serving to tee up Raphael Guerreiro’s objective 4 minutes later. He then accomplished his hat trick with a deft chip over an onrushing Sommer, turning into the youngest male participant to attain three objectives in a World Cup knockout match since Brazil legend Pele in 1958.

Ramos got here by means of the Seixal academy and for Benfica followers his exploits are effectively referred to as he has scored 14 objectives in 21 video games thus far this season, already beating his eight in 46 in what was a breakthrough 12 months final marketing campaign.

The striker has performed an enormous half in changing Darwin Nunez, who moved to Liverpool for €100 million in June, so what can Benfica and Portugal anticipate from him going ahead? We dig into the info with former scout Tor-Kristian Karlsen.

Position

Initially positioned as a withdrawn / supporting ahead behind Nunez or Roman Yaremchuk at Benfica, he was moved to a extra conventional centre-forward function in the beginning of the season to nice impact. — Karlsen.

By the numbers

Ramos’ worldwide profession is barely 4 video games previous thus far, however already he has made a huge impact on the 2022 World Cup.

Touches: 42
Pass accuracy: 81.8%
Chances created: 2
Shots: 6
Shots on Target: 83.3%
Goals: 3
Expected objectives: 1.47

Strengths

Though nonetheless roaming in his interpretation of the centre-forward function — he typically makes floor by dribbling — Ramos has notably impressed along with his skill to complete rapidly with both foot, his high-quality first contact permitting him to arrange fast, neat finishes. He excels at selecting the correct areas within the field and pulling away from his marker on the proper second, with a couple of of his objectives coming from tap-ins.

Having beforehand performed deeper, Ramos can be a intelligent mixture participant who can arrange the preliminary attacking motion in addition to getting on the tip of it. Though not lightning fast, his skill to time his motion typically sees him pulling away from defenders when enjoying off the shoulders of the centre-backs.

From a extra central place he is additionally developed his aerial sport — he is good at directing his headers — offering a pure goal for crosses. — Karlsen

How he can enhance

For a 21-year-old in his first season as a daily, Ramos has sharpened virtually all points of his sport. Though avid in his urgent duties, he might turn out to be much more assertive in attacking duels by including a component of “cynicism” to his sport.

Currently tending to attain in streaks (albeit his current ratio is spectacular), time will present whether or not he can turn out to be a constant objective scorer on the highest degree. — Karlsen

In quotes

Goncalo Ramos: “I think not even in my best dreams I thought about being part of the starting XI for the knockout phases. Cristiano Ronaldo is our leader. He’s the captain, he’s the leader and we always look forward to playing side by side with him. He is my reference and an idol to many of us. Cristiano Ronaldo, [Robert] Lewandowski, [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic — those players are my role models.”

Who has he been linked with?

Ramos was linked with strikes to Manchester United and Newcastle United in November, whereas PSG and Wolves have additionally reportedly been him, however Brighton confirmed an curiosity final summer time.

Benfica had reportedly wished not less than €40m from golf equipment, however that determine is prone to have elevated after his efforts in Qatar. He reportedly has a €120m launch clause in his contract, which expires in 2026.