What an incredible night Goncalo Ramos had for himself against Switzerland as Portugal hammered their opponents 6-1 in the 2022 World Cup last-16.
Ramos was the name on everyone’s lips ahead of kick-off. Well, technically he was the second name on everyone’s lips because the first name on everyone’s lips was Cristiano Ronaldo.
Portugal’s all-time top scorer was benched by boss Fernando Santos after an incident following a substitution in the final group game against South Korea.
Benfica starlet Ramos, 21, was the player selected by Santos to lead the line in Ronaldo’s absence, and it more than paid off.
Ramos scored three of Portugal’s six, thereby taking him way past Ronaldo’s record in World Cup knockouts (he has never scored in the World Cup knockouts).
Ramos joined the Benfica academy at the age of 13 and has worked his way through the club’s fabled youth set-up, making his first-team debut in July 2020, where he scored twice. The year prior he had been the top scorer at the U19 European Championships as part of the Portugal team that finished runners-up.
So far this season he has nine goals in the Portuguese Primeira Liga, and a further five in Europe. His development is one of the reasons Benfica were content to lose Darwin Nunez to Liverpool.
However Benfica nearly lost him a couple of years ago when Nunez was in full flow and the club also had Ukrainian forward Roman Yaremchuk. However former B team manager Nelson Verissimo was hired to replace Bruno Lage when the latter resigned, and that appointment proved crucial as he knew what Ramos could do and gave him chances.
This season, like so many others, Ramos has flourished under new manager Roger Schmidt and has been playing as the team’s primary striker in the German’s 4-2-3-1 system. But Ramos is versatile, he can play wider and excels when allowed to drop deep. He has drawn comparisons with Harry Kane and Karim Benzema as a big, physical striker who is adept at linking the play and bringing his team-mates into the game and giving them goalscoring chances.
But it’s in front of goal where he’s taken real strides. Ramos always had great instincts, but now he’s finding different ways to score. Consider the three goals he scored against Switzerland: a power shot, nipping in at the near post, and a delightful finish for the third. Some have compared his movement and sense for the ball to Germany striker Thomas Muller. If he can add finishing to his innate talent he will be a real threat for Portugal for years to come.
Yet his first call-up for Portugal only came in September this year, as he and fellow young Benfica star Antonio Silva battled into Santos’ squad, just the latest gems off Benfica and Portugal’s frankly absurd production line.
The next step will be an interesting one; Ramos is a great player but he is still raw, much like Nunez when he left for Liverpool. Manchester United were linked with him before the World Cup, as well as Brighton & Hove Albion. Ramos doesn’t need to rush though, he has plenty of examples of now Benfica alumni who left too early, and he will get his move.
Ramos became the first player to score a hat-trick on their first World Cup start since Miroslav Klose in 2002. Ramos’ emergence at the highest level may have been slightly earlier than some were expecting, but it has felt inevitable for a long time. He is one of a number players who show Portugal there will be life after Ronaldo, a lot of life in fact. Of course Portugal will miss their record scorer, but with players like Ramos around, they are going to be absolutely fine. They will still chant for Ronaldo, but soon that too will change.
