Portugal

Goncalo Ramos Puts Portugal Up 1-0 vs. Switzerland

Ramos got the starting nod ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo

NBC Universal, Inc.

What a way to get your first-ever World Cup goal.

Goncalo Ramos put Portugal on top 1-0 against Switzerland with a left-footed strike in the 17th minute in their round of 16 matchup on Tuesday.

Joao Felix made the inverted run on his strong foot and laid it off to Ramos inside the box, who controlled the ball with his left foot. Despite center back Fabian Schar and goalkeeper Yann Sommer cutting off most of the goal-scoring angles, Ramos fired it with his weak foot in the only spot he could realistically score.

Ramos, 21, is making the biggest start of his young career as manager Fernando Santos benched Portuguese legend Cristiano Ronaldo for disciplinary issues, putting his faith in Ramos to lead the line in a win-or-go home scenario.

Ramos, who has nine goals and one assist in 11 league games with Benfica in Portugal this season, repaid the faith early on.

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