Portugal head coach Fernando Santos has made the bold decision to drop Cristiano Ronaldo for his side’s round of 16 against Switzerland at the 2022 World Cup on Tuesday.
Instead, he turned to Benfica striker Goncalo Ramos, 21.
And Ramos rewarded his show of faith quite emphatically.
The youngster fired a terrific shot from a tight angle just 17 minutes into the Portugal game to put his side ahead.
Ramos then doubled his tally moments after half-time, fscoring Diogo Dalot’s low cross at the far post.
And, shortly after, he fired a shot past Yann Sommer to score his third and Portugal’s fifth, becoming the first World Cup player from Qatar to score a hat-trick.
Ramos scored twice against Switzerland (Photo: Getty Images)
His hat-trick means Ramos has scored more goals (3) for Portugal in the World Cup Round of 16 after 17 minutes than Ronaldo in 514 minutes played in the competition’s Round of 16 (0), according to Opta.
And, in total, he has already scored four goals in just four international matches.
But who is Ramos? And why are so many scouts impressed with the Benfica man? Here’s what you need to know.
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The Radar – Athletic’s scouting guide for the 2022 World Cup
Who is he?
After selling Darwin Nunez to Liverpool for €80m this summer, Benfica have found their replacement from within.
Ramos joined the club’s Seixal academy when he was 13 years old. The son of former Farense player Marco Ramos, he said: “Although I never saw him play, I caught the football bug from him.”
Top scorer at the 2019 Under-19 Euros, a tournament in which Portugal finished runners-up, it was only a matter of time before Ramos broke into the first team. In July 2020, he came on as an 85th-minute substitute against Desportivo Aves and wasted no time. The Olhao lad scored twice, becoming the first Benfica player to win a brace on his debut since former Wales international Mark Pembridge in 1998.
Compared to Thomas Muller for his positional intelligence, the towering Ramos said: “I score goals but what I have to work on is my repertoire. I haven’t always played as a striker. Ramos has scored for four different Benfica teams in one season (the juniors, the Under-23s, the B team and the first team) but Muller’s parallels stem from his past with a centre-forward.
His first call-up to Portugal’s senior squad came in the final round of Nations League games in September. Another Benfica academy graduate, teenage centre-back Antonio Silva, is in the same boat after Fernando Santos favored him at the last minute over Jose Fonte.
Santos could no longer ignore them. Benfica entered the World Cup break unbeaten in 25 games. They qualified top of a Champions League group with Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus with Ramos and Silva playing key roles alongside Roger Schmidt.
Ramos has already scored 14 goals in all competitions this season and is the Portuguese Primeira Liga’s top scorer. He more than justified his inclusion in the squad at the expense of Goncalo Guedes.
What does the data say?
After a breakout 2021-22 season, Ramos has taken it to another level this campaign – scoring nine Primeira Liga goals for Benfica from 11 starts, he currently tops the scoring charts in Portugal.
If he is able to get involved in building his team (volume of streaked play, 75 of 99), Ramos is a finisher – a man who comes to life in the penalty area (receptions in the opposing box, 99 of 99) and is dangerous for picking up dangerous areas to receive the ball (xG of ball progression, 81 of 99).
His movement is smart, often finding himself with a clear view of the goal to quickly finish with an offensive touch (shot volume, 98 of 99). In fact, among players with 10 or more shots in Primeira Liga this season, only team-mate Antonio Silva has a shorter average shooting distance (7.7m) than the 8.5m from Ramos’ goal.
What does the future hold for him?
Ramos’ record for Portugal Under-21s had already caught the eye of teams across Europe and frankly, it wouldn’t have come as a surprise had he moved on last summer.
The Seixal Academy is a guarantee of quality. Players like Joao Cancelo and Bernardo Silva were torn from it without imposing themselves in the first team.
In the end, Ramos stayed, his path cleared by the sale of Nunez. He’s contracted until 2025 and a buyout clause worth €120m is included in the fine print. However, Ramos’ value is closer to €40m.
Lisbon newspaper Record have linked Brighton with a move for the player in the final weekend before the World Cup.
GO FURTHER
The Radar – Athletic’s scouting guide for the 2022 World Cup
GO FURTHER
How to understand The Radar, the player’s guide to the Athletics World Cup
(Photo: Getty Images)
