Prior to Portugal’s World Cup last-16 match against Switzerland, Cristiano Ronaldo had played 13,250 minutes of international football, approximately nine days more than the 36 minutes played by Goncalo Ramos. Ronaldo had also scored 109 goals in 159 international matches, including at five World Cups, while Ramos had scored once in three substitute appearances.
But by the end of his first start for his country, as Portugal cruised into the quarter-finals of the World Cup with a thumping 6-1 win over Switzerland, Ramos had scored three more goals in the knockout stages of the tournament than Ronaldo has managed across his entire career. The 21-year-old’s sensational hat-trick will go down as one of great breakout displays in World Cup history.
