The Portugal national team secured a spot in the quarterfinals of the World Cup, defeating Switzerland 6-1 in a match held on Tuesday evening at Lusail Stadium, marking the eighth match of the Round of 16 of the 22nd FIFA World Cup hosted by Qatar until the 18th of this month. Portugal took an early lead with two goals in the first half, scored by Gonçalo Ramos with a shot taken from a tight angle inside the area into the upper right corner of the goal guarded by Yann Sommer, and by captain Pepe with a header from a corner kick in the 17th and 33rd minutes.
Pepe wore the captain's armband in place of Cristiano Ronaldo, who sat on the bench. Ramos added the third goal in the 51st minute with a shot from near the box that hit the goalkeeper and deflected into the net. Rafael Guerreiro increased the Portuguese tally to four goals in the 55th minute with a shot from inside the area into the roof of the net.
Manuel Akanji responded by scoring Switzerland's first goal in the 58th minute, following up on a shot received from a corner kick. However, Gonçalo Ramos, who was on his own, scored the fifth goal for Portugal and completed his hat-trick in the 67th minute with a shot to the right of goalkeeper Sommer. Ramos became the first player in the current finals to achieve a hat-trick.
Rafael Leão capped off the Portuguese celebration by scoring a sixth goal in the 90th minute with a lobbed shot into the Swiss goal from inside the area. Portugal will face Morocco in the quarterfinals on Saturday at 5 PM at Al Thumama Stadium.
