Little known before World Cup, Ramos goals lift Portugal
By GRAHAM DUNBAR
AP Sports Writer
LUSAIL, Qatar (AP) — Gonçalo Ramos showed that he has the goods and the goals to stand in for Cristiano Ronaldo by scoring a hat trick at the World Cup in his first start for Portugal’s national team. Portugal beat Switzerland 6-1 and advanced to the quarterfinals for the third time. Ramos says “not even in my wildest dreams did I think about being part of the starting team for the knockout stage.” Those three goals and the smoking pistols goal celebration instantly made Ramos one of the sport’s hottest prospects. Portugal will face Morocco on Saturday for a spot in the semifinals.