For many people Goncalo Ramos will now be known as the man who replaced the dropped Cristiano Ronaldo and scored a World Cup hat-trick for Portugal.
The forward had only won a matter of caps for his country prior to his surprise inclusion against Switzerland. Ronaldo's reaction to being hooked against South Korea angered manager Fernando Santos, who opted to hand the 21-year-old a start in the last 16 clash with Switzerland.
Ramos had only bagged one international goal, which came in a friendly win over Nigeria, but has etched his name into history with his treble against the Swiss - the first hat-trick of the tournament in Qatar. He thundered home his first early on, before twice finishing impressively in the second-half to cap a sensational night.
He is currently enjoying his best season to date with Benfica, scoring 14 times in 21 outings for the Portuguese outfit. The 21-year-old scored eight times in 46 games last term for Benfica, including a strike at Anfield, and has continued to flourish in the first-team picture. Santos included the youngster in his squad and said on his selections: "Our list was based on the players' qualities and potential, on what each one of them can offer to our system."
Ramos made his first-team debut on July 21 2020, coming on as an 85th minute sub, scoring twice in just eight minutes. That year he also excelled in the in the UEFA Youth League as he helped Benfica reach the final, where they lost to Real Madrid, although he finished as joint-top scorer with eight goals.
Last term Ramos found minutes at a premium with Roman Yaremchuk and Darwin Núñez ahead of him in the pecking order, which led to him pondering a January exit. However, interim manager Nélson Veríssimo, who arrived in January, had coached Ramos in the B side and immediately made him a regular.
In August this year Ramos bagged his first career hat-trick in a 4–1 home win over Midtjylland in Champions League qualifying. He's since helped the Portuguese side top their Champions League group, overcoming PSG, whom they twice drew with.
Ramos has also long been earmarked on the international scene, making his way through the youth ranks. He was part of the Portugal side that finished runners-up to Spain at the U19 Euros in Armenia in 2019. He was the top scorer with four goals in five appearances, which included a hat-trick in a 4–0 win against the Republic of Ireland.
He won his first U21 cap in November 2020 and helped his country reach the final of the U21 Euros a year later. In September this year Ramos was called up to the senior team for the first time and scored on his debut against Nigeria.
