Qatar World Cup 2022, POR vs SUI: Leao, president de Sousa acclaim hat-trick man Ramos

Qatar World Cup 2022: Portugal presented a sensational performance to oust Switzerland 6-1 in the pre-quarters on Tuesday. With Goncalo Ramos scoring a hat-trick, Rafael Leao and president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa acclaimed the hero.

It was a mouth-watering performance from European giant Portugal during its 2022 FIFA World Cup pre-quarters against Switzerland in Qatar. Played at the Lusail Iconic Stadium on Tuesday night, the former thumped the latter 6-1. While there were four goal-scorers for the Navigators, Goncalo Ramos struck thrice to score his hat-trick and emphatically seal the Portuguese's place in the quarterfinal, where it would be taking on Morocco at the Al Thumama Stadium on Saturday. In the meantime, fellow goal-scorer Rafael Leao and Portugal's president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa were in awe of Ramos and hailed the hat-trick man.

Uttering to Sport TV, Leao articulated, "We have a lot of players of great quality, and he [Ramos] is another young man who showed a lot of quality. Today, he had the opportunity to be in the starting line-up, he helped the team, and we are very happy for him."

The last man to score a WC hat-trick was German striker Miroslav Klose, the competition's record 16-time goal-scorer. Meanwhile, reflecting on the upcoming contest against Morocco, Leao communicated, "We're going to celebrate, but calm spirits, respecting the Moroccan team. Now, it's time to prepare for that game, and we'll surely come in strong."

Despite being a top performer for Italian giants Milan in the last 18 months, Leao has had limited starts for Portugal, given the side's resources. "Even though I'm not the first option, I try to help the team when I come on. I have to respect the coach's decisions," he highlighted, reports FotMob.

Also, de Sousa interacted with television channel RTP3 following the Navigator's entry into the quarters and enunciated, "The selector's choices, in general, worked well. The team played well in the first half and also in the second half. The substitutions happened naturally, and we still had more goals. It was one of the best nights in Portuguese football."