Fans beg Santos to bring on Ronaldo but replacement Ramos scores memorable hat-trick

Portugal manager Fernando Santos sent shockwaves across the World Cup by dropping his captain Ronaldo for the Round of 16 tie.

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However, Ronaldo's replacement in the centre forward berth, Benfica's Ramos, justified the decision just 17 minutes into the knockout tie.

Receiving the ball in the box from Joao Felix, Ramos quickly turned and fired a sublime tight-angled shot past Yann Sommer into the roof of the net.

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"In the game of his life, he's scored the goal of his life," said talkSPORT's Jim Proudfoot.

England legend Stuart Pearce added: "My goodness from a really tight angle he just turned and unloaded a shot that went right into the postage stamp of the corner.

"To be fair to the goalkeeper, it went past him before he even had time to blink. Credit to him that was almost unstoppable, the goalkeeper will be disappointed as they always are, but that was some strike.

"The goal would have delighted the Portugal manager the most, sometimes your decisions work and sometimes they don't. He's got it absolutely bang on."

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Santos' decision was further justified in the second half as Ramos got his second of the night when he got on the end of a cross from the right from close range after Pepe put Portugal 2-0 up.

Ramos then turned provider as he played a through ball to Raphael Guerreiro, whose emphatic finish made it 4-0. Manuel Akanji scored a consolation goal for the Swiss moments later.

And Ramos completed his hat-trick on 67 minutes with a lovely dink over the Switzerland goalkeeper Yann Sommer.

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"It's a masterstroke from Fernando Santos… who needs Ronaldo tonight?" talkSPORT's Jim Proudfoot said on commentary.

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Portugal boss Santos, who won Euro 2016 with Ronaldo by his side, has been a regular defender of the 37-year-old, who is also his captain.

That relationship appears to have been damaged after a group loss to South Korea when Ronaldo reacted to being subbed in the 65th minute.

Amateur lip-readers suggested he complained about the coach's decision, which Santos later responded to in a press conference.

"Have I seen the images when Ronaldo was subbed? Yes. Did I not like what I saw? No, I didn't like it one bit," Santos said on Monday.

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"These matters are resolved behind closed doors," he said. "It's resolved. Full stop on this matter and now it's full focus on tomorrow's match."

"Have I seen the images when Ronaldo was subbed? Yes. Did I not like what I saw? No, I didn't like it one bit," Santos said on Monday.

"These matters are resolved behind closed doors," he said. "It's resolved. Full stop on this matter and now it's full focus on tomorrow's match."

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Despite those words, it was still a surprise to see Ronaldo dropped as he sits just one goal from breaking Eusebio's record of nine for Portugal at World Cups.

Coming in was Benfica's Ramos, who has only very recently broken into the Portugal side.

The 21-year-old had previously only played 34 minutes in his senior international career, twice as a substitute in the World Cup group stages as well as a friendly.

He had never started a game though until now, scoring three times after being named in the line-up for the first time.

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Portugal extended their advantage as veteran centre-back Pepe headed home a corner from the right on 33 minutes, the goal seeing Pepe become the second oldest scorer in World Cup history.

Ramos got his second and Portgual's third before playing a key role in their fourth and completing his hat-trick midway through the second half. Rafael Leao rounded off the win with an effort in stoppage-time.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo made just a cameo appearance in the match, entering the fray on 73 minutes of the 6-1 win.

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