Young man who overshadowed Cristiano Ronaldo won a place in Portugal on the eve of the World Cup

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Coach Fernando Santos surprised and left star Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench in the match against Switzerland, in the round of 16 of the World Cup in Qatar. His replacement was Gonçalo Ramos, a 21-year-old, who did the job and made history by scoring three goals in the 6-1 victory.

On the way out of the field, the attacker was still unaware of what he had just done. “I don’t even know what to say, it’s all so fast. Now we have to focus on the next game.”

Ramos is one of Benfica’s highlights in the Portuguese Championship, being the competition’s top scorer with nine goals scored in 11 games. In the Champions League, he played six games and scored one goal.

He has been at Benfica since he was 12 years old. He went through all the club’s youth categories until he reached the professional team in 2020.

The player was always present in the youth teams of the Portuguese national team, but was not named as one of the 26 squad for the World Cup in Qatar. Ramos was practically the last to join Fernando Santos’ team.

The withdrawal of Rafa Silva, who withdrew from the Portuguese national team in the call-up for the two League of Nations games in September this year, for personal reasons, made the Portuguese coach bet on the young revelation of Benfica.

He ended up not being used in the clashes against the Czech Republic and Spain, but remained in the plans, being called up for the Cup, even without having played any games for the main team.

His debut took place in the friendly against Nigeria, on November 17, when he came on in the second half, replacing André Silva, and scored a goal in the 4-0 victory.

The Benfica fans are already preparing to lose him soon, as his performance this season has already aroused the interest of other powers. According to European newspapers, Arsenal, Manchester United and Bayer Munich have already placed Ramos on the wish list for the window that opens in January.

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