Portugal secured their place in the quarter-finals of the World Cup before

The last match of the 1/8 finals of the World Cup could be the most intriguing. There were two relatively equal teams - Portugal and Switzerland. Everyone went through their group fairly evenly. The Portuguese were first in group "H" with six points, defeating Ghana and Uruguay, and in the third round lost to South Korea. The Swiss in the "G" quartet also earned six points, but finished second. They beat Cameroon and Serbia, but lost minimally to Brazil.

The first important event of the match took place even before it started - Ronaldo was left on the bench for the first time in 14 years at major international tournaments. So the leader had to be someone else. This role was predicted for the young Ramush - and he justified it. He opened the scoring in the match: after throwing the ball out, Felix rolled it to Ramush, who from under Sher sent the ball into the near nine with a powerful blow.

With the captain's armband, the team was brought out by 39-year-old Pepe. And he also contributed to the victory. At the 33rd minute, Fernandes hung from the right corner flag to the goalkeeper's line, Pepe won the top and sent the ball into the net with a strong header.

Attacks of the Swiss national team were not without meaning, individual actions often came to the fore, but they lacked organization. What can not be said about the Portuguese: they were able to create a couple of sharp moments before the end of the first half, but left for the break with the score 2:0.

The Swiss defense did not work the way a Swiss watch works. It took quite a bit of time for the Portuguese to score the third. Dalot on the right, almost from the front shot to the near, and Ramush successfully closed the transfer there. A few minutes later, Guerreiro was already receiving congratulations after hitting the crossbar.

The fourth goal scored and the almost solved problem of reaching the quarterfinals relaxed the Portuguese. And the Swiss seized the moment. Shaqiri hung from the right corner flag to the goalkeeper's line, where Ramush became the unwitting author of the assist, reaching for the ball with his head, however, throwing it off to the far post, where he closed naked Akanji into the near corner.

The 21-year-old striker needed to justify himself for the offensive conceded goal. And he did it with a hat-trick. First in the playoffs at the championship in Qatar!

Leau put a point in the match already in stoppage time. Less than five minutes had passed since he entered the field, and he was already accepting congratulations: on the left edge of the penalty area, he received a pass from Guerreiro, removed Xhaka on the backswing and sent the ball into the goal - 6:1!

On December 10, the team that has already made a sensation - the national team of Morocco - will go for the second. Well, the Portuguese, led by Ronaldo, will prove their right to go further.

Match protocol

Portugal - Switzerland - 6:1 (2:0).

December 6. Lusail. Lusail Stadium.

Referee - Ramos (Mexico).

Portugal: Costa, Dalo, Pepe, Dias, Guerreiro, Carvalho, Otavio (Vitinha 73), Silva (Neves 81), Fernandes (Leau 87), Felix (Ronaldo 73), Ramos (Horta 73).

Switzerland: Sommer, Rodriguez, Akanji, Cher (Gemert 46), Fernandez, Xhaka, Freuler (Zakaria 55), Vargas (Okafor 66), Sow (Seferovic 55), Shaqiri, Embolo.

Goals: 1:0 Ramos (17), 2:0 Pepe (33), 3:0 Ramos (51), 4:0 Guerreiro (55), 4:1 Akanji (58), 5:1 Ramos (67), 6:1 Leau (90+2).

Booked: Cher (43), Jemert (66).