FIFA World Cup 2022 : Portugal’s Goncalo Ramos fills the big boots of CR7

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FIFA World Cup 2022 Portugal's Goncalo Ramos fills the big boots of CR7

One of the most surprising debutants of 2022 FIFA World Cup has been Portugal’s Goncalo Ramos who replaced the Cristiano Ronaldo from the starting eleven to score this edition’s first hat-trick. No one saw that coming maybe not even the player who found the back of the net thrice other than Portuguese head coach Fernando Santos who took the brave decision of leaving Ronaldo on the bench.

As we discussed it before – The top 5 possible debutants at FIFA World Cup 2022, it was a mistake to leave Ramos from the list. While it took players like Bukayo Saka, Cody Gakpo, Lionel Messi, Marcus Rashford and others more than 3 matches to score 3 goals, Goncalo Ramos took only 70 minutes to score the same.

The 21-year-old has already become one of the contenders for this year’s Golden boot but he is still two goals shy from Kylian Mbappe. As Critiano Ronaldo’s best days are behind him and Portugal, Goncalo Ramos showed signs of being a worthy successor for the all-time International record goalscorer. Though it is too early to say as he has just made his World cup debut but the spark within him cannot be ignored.

How did Goncalo Ramos break into Portugal’s team?

He began his career in SL Benfica’s youth academy before entering Benfica’s B team in 2019. In his first season with the B team, Ramos scored 1 goal in 5 appearances. The following season saw him score 4 goals in 20 outings but his breakout season with the B team came a year later during the 2020-21 season when he found the back of the net 11 times in 12 appearances. During his 3 year tenure with the B team, Ramos was responsible for scoring 16 goals in 37 games.

The 21-year-old was awarded with a promotion to the main team where he initially struggled to get minutes but once he was given the chance, he did not let that get away. The presence of players like Darwin Nunez and Roman Yaremchuk made it difficult to fix a spot in the starting 11 but after the arrival of head coach Nelson Verissimo, he began to play more.

His first UEFA Champions League goal came against English Giants Liverpool during their 3-3 draw at Anfield. By doing so, Ramos became the second youngest player to score for Benfica in the final stages of the European club competition. He finished the 2021/22 season with 7 goals and 2 assists in 29 games.

He reaped the rewards after getting called up to the national team in September 2022 for Portugal’s UEFA Nations League tie against Czech Republic and Spain. On November, Fernando Santos named him in Portugal’s 26-man squad and scored his first goal for the national team days before the World cup during their friendly fixture against Nigeria. In that match he scored the third goal and provided an assist for Portugal’s 4 goal in their 4-0 victory.

Although before scoring the famous hat-trick at the round of 16 against Switzerland, Goncalo Ramos was having a splendid season with Benfica, scoring 9 goals and provided 3 assists in just 11 Liga Portugal outings.

Goncalo Ramos style of play and Hat-trick at the World cup

Ramos is renowned for his versatility, as he can play as a striker or second striker among other offensive positions. Ramos typically dives deep to aid his team in developing their offensive play by involving his teammates and generating opportunities for other players.

He knows how to rotate positions so that his movement, short passes, or long passes can help the ball-holder because of his attentiveness and willingness to follow directions. In order to hold up the ball and serve as his team’s focal point in attack when he offers short, he wants to be positive in his control of the ball. He makes an effort to open out his body at each opportunity.

If we look at the goals he scored against Switzerland then he must credited for the way he finished. Joao Felix found him in between two defenders with Ramos cushioning the ball with his right to take the shot from the left foot. He then smashed a strong and precise shot from an extremely tough angle. The space between the near post and Goalkeeper Yan Sommer’s was minimal as one could only squeeze a tennis ball but Ramos shot it high and above the hands of Sommer to make it 1-0.

After Pepe’s header into the goal, the Benfica forward got into the score sheet once again this time Diogo Dalot crossed the ball from the right and Ramos just niggled the ball with his left foot inside the goal through the legs of Yan Sommer. The second goal was an example of a classic center-forward game play by Ramos as he just directed the ball goal wards without using much power, just sheer technique.

His hat-trick goal was again assisted by Joao Felix and Ramos showed shades of Ronaldo within him after he chipped the ball. There is not type of goal that Cristiano did not score and the comparison between the two was inevitable. His final goal meant that he is only the second Portuguese player after CR7 to score a World cup hat-trick and also became the first since Miroslav Klose in 2002 to bag three goals in WC debut.

Bruno Fernandes who operated as the right winger against Switzerland nodded Goncalo Ramos’ performance after the match by saying – “Most people in the world had never heard about him until today. It is because people are not aware of the quality in the Portuguese league. I think people should be aware of Goncalo”.

Ronaldo was seen standing up and clap for the 21-year-old’s extraordinary performance which took Portugal through to the next round (Quarter-finals). The Selecaos will now face Morocco at the last 8 on 10th of December.

Also Read – Which player has scored most Knockout round goals in FIFA World Cup history?

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