World Cup Now: Portugal dominant without Cristiano Ronaldo
Gonçalo Ramos pulled off a hat trick en route to Portugal blowing out Switzerland 6-1 on Tuesday. Portugal advanced to the quarterfinals, where it'll face Morocco, which defeated Spain in a penalty shootout on Tuesday. Furthermore, Portugal's convincing victory comes against the backdrop of it benching star forward Cristiano Ronaldo.
On the latest edition of "World Cup Now," DaMarcus Beasley, Melissa Ortiz and former USMNT player Sacha Kljestan broke down Portugal's victory.
Portugal vs. Switzerland Highlights
DaMarcus Beasley on Ronaldo's mentality with benching: He's a big boy. He understands the moment. He understands that it was his time to sit out. At times, he has shown that he's a very good teammate. I've never had him as a teammate, but I know friends that have had him as teammates and said "he's a great professional, a great teammate, a great guy off the field." So, I'm sure he's happy for Gonçalo Ramos on his hat trick.
Sacha Kljestan on Portugal's current standing: This is the Portugal that I chose to go to the final. There have been some games in the group stages, you think, "Oh, okay they look strong, they've got difference-makers, they've got Bruno Fernandes." But this was like every player on the field stepping up and playing at their ultimate level. And when you have that, it's hard to beat. And so going up against Morocco next should look like a very different game because Morocco is going to defend much deeper and much more compact than what Switzerland did. But this is a very good Portugal team and a really, really good performance in a knockout-stage game. You don't often see that. Sometimes these games are tight, but it's like every guy on the field was just on it today.
Melissa Ortiz on Portugal being rejuvenated: I want to call this a rejuvenation. And I don't know if it's exactly a youth rejuvenation because Pepe scored, and he solidified the defense, and he's still a mainstay — even though he's reaching 40. But you did see in every line that rejuvenating energy. Right there, you see an incredible chip pass from João Félix to Gonçalo Ramos. And then you saw Dalot obviously getting in today and Bruno Fernandes. I just think all around, like Sacha just said, it was a brilliant performance, and this is exactly what they needed. You saw them struggle a little bit in the last match. Now without Cristiano Ronaldo, I feel like this is just the next step phase of just rejuvenizing the Portuguese side.
Read more from the World Cup:
- World Cup 2022 odds: Lines for remaining teams to win in Qatar
- World Cup 2022 highlights: Brazil dominates South Korea, 4-1
- World Cup 2022 highlights: Croatia defeats Japan on PKs, 3-1
- World Cup turning into a superstar showcase as bracket narrows
- Best of the World Cup so far: Top goal, save, player, team and more
- Quick guide to surviving penalty-kick shootouts at World Cup
- France looks poised to become only third back-to-back World Cup champion
- Kylian Mbappé is already one of the World Cup's all-time greats
- Matt Turner reflects on Netherlands loss: ‘We left something on the table’
- For USA, the focus now shifts to 2026 World Cup
- USMNT optimistic about future: ‘We can be giants eventually’
- Stu Holden's top 50 players at the World Cup
