Submit your Article

A chant of “RONALDO! RONALDO!” swept around the biggest stadium at the World Cup, followed by loud jeers when the fans realized their idol wasn’t coming onto the field.

Cristiano Ronaldo was, in fact, sitting in the Portugal dugout, looking glum and still wearing a substitute’s bib. And the guy who started instead of him on Tuesday was about to complete a hat trick.

After Ronaldo was dropped from the starting lineup in a bold call by Portugal coach Fernando Santos, Goncalo Ramos — the superstar striker’s unlikely replacement — made himself an instant star by leading the team to a 6-1 win over Switzerland and into the World Cup quarterfinals.

Ramos, a 21-year-old forward who only made his Portugal debut last month, demonstrated the kind of clinical finishing for which Ronaldo was once known in scoring the first goal in the 17th minute and adding others in the 51st and 67th, Associated Press reported.

No player had scored a hat trick in his first World Cup start since Germany striker Miroslav Klose in 2002.

“Not even in my wildest dreams did I think about being part of the starting team for the knockout stage,” said Ramos, an unheralded striker who plays for Benfica and counts Ronaldo as his soccer idol along with Robert Lewandowski and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

It was around the hour mark that fans throughout the 89,000-seat Lusail Stadium started to implore Santos to bring on the 37-year-old Ronaldo, and they got their wish in the 72nd minute. Portugal had the game wrapped up by then, with defenders Pepe and Raphael Guerreiro also having scored. Rafael Leao added another goal in stoppage time.

Ronaldo didn’t score — he still hasn’t in the knockout stage in any of his five World Cups — and after briefly celebrating with his teammates following the final whistle, he walked off the field on his own, perhaps wondering where his career goes from here.

He is currently without a club after leaving Manchester United midway through the World Cup, and he might no longer be the starter for his country.

The rest of the Portugal team hung around to applaud its fans at one end of the stadium. A quarterfinal match awaits against Morocco on Saturday and Santos now has to decide whether to stick with Ramos or restore Ronaldo, the top scorer in men’s international soccer and one of the game’s greatest ever players, according to Associated Press.

Santos said it was a strategic decision to drop Ronaldo and not a disciplinary one, having expressed unhappiness during his eve-of-match news conference Monday at the striker’s attitude after he was substituted against South Korea in the team’s final group game.

“What we have to do is think about this team collectively,” Santos said, before talking about Ronaldo. “I will always consider he is a very important player to have in the team.”

That might now be a substitute and an experienced head in the locker room rather than a starter.

Ramos was a surprise replacement — he had previously only made three substitute appearances for Portugal — and took his chance.

Ramos, who was only 2 years old when Ronaldo made his Portugal debut in 2003, scored the first hat trick at this year’s World Cup.

He drove a rising shot with his left foot inside Switzerland goalkeeper Yann Sommer’s near post for the first goal, flicked deftly through Sommer’s legs from close range for the second, and then ran through to chip the goalkeeper for his third.

Ronaldo was seen smiling while he was warming up on the side of the field after Ramos’ second goal.

“Cristiano, as our captain, did what he always does,” Ramos said. “He helped us and encouraged us, not only myself but my colleagues.”

Ramos even had an assist, playing the ball through for Guerreiro to score the fourth goal.

Ronaldo was lively when he came on and and even thought he had scored when he ran through and drove a low left-footed shot past Sommer. The goal was disallowed for offside, much to the irritation of the fans — Portuguese or from other countries — who had come to see him play, Associated Press reported.

Switzerland’s only goal came in the 57th minute when Manuel Akanji tapped in at the far post after a corner kick.

The first World Cup held in an Arab nation has produced the Arab world’s first quarterfinalist.

Morocco became only the fourth African country to reach the quarterfinals at the biggest soccer tournament in the world by beating Spain 3-0 in a penalty shootout after a 0-0 draw through extra time, Associated Press reported.

The Moroccans were playing in only their second knockout game at a World Cup, an event which is being held in the Middle East for the first time in its nearly 100-year history.

“Right now is a special moment for all Africa, for all the Arab countries, for all the Muslims around this world,” Morocco midfielder Azzedine Ounahi said. “You try to make them happy, try to make ourselves happy. And I think it goes quite well.”

The World Cup in Qatar is the first to be played in the Arab world and only the second to be held in Asia. The tournament began with one of the biggest upsets in history when Saudi Arabia beat two-time champion Argentina on the third day of action.

The Saudis were eliminated, as were host Qatar and Tunisia, in the group stage. That left Morocco as the Arab world’s standard bearer, according to Associated Press.

“I’m very proud of my fans, of my people and Arabic people,” said Morocco coach Walid Regragui, who is the first African to coach an African team to the quarterfinals. “Also because I think you have Qatari people here, maybe Algerian people, Tunisian people, Arabic people and African people.”

Achraf Hakimi, who was born in Madrid and previously played for Real Madrid, converted the deciding penalty in the shootout. Abdelhamid Sabiri and Hakim Ziyech, who returned to the national team after a dispute with the previous coach, also scored.

Morocco has been the biggest surprise of the tournament and will next face Portugal in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

Morocco, which has a complex geopolitical relationship with close neighbor Spain, advanced from a difficult group that included Canada, 2018 semifinalist Belgium, and 2018 runner-up Croatia.

The team came to the tournament with more than half of its squad filled with players who were not born in Morocco, the most of any of the 32 participating countries, Associated Press reported.

“Today I think it showed to the world every Moroccan is Moroccan with his passport,” Regragui said. “When he comes to the national team, you want to die, you want to fight. And that is what I want to show. And now, we have one example. The coach is born in France but nobody can have my heart but my country.”

The king of Morocco called to congratulate the team after the game.

Morocco, which also reached the round of 16 at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, is also the only team from outside Europe or South America to make it to the last eight in Qatar.

Cameroon, Senegal and Ghana are the only other African nations to reach the World Cup quarterfinals. None of the three advanced to the semifinals.

Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, who plays for Spanish club Sevilla, saved two of the three penalties he faced in the shootout, from Carlos Soler and Sergio Busquets. Pablo Sarabia hit the post.

“We knew that if we went to the penalty shootout, we had one of the best goalkeepers in the world and we could win it,” said Regragui, who took over as coach of Morocco in August and had little time to prepare the team ahead of the World Cup.

Sarabia had entered the match in the final minutes of extra time, apparently for the shootout. He replaced Nico Williams, who had also come in as a substitute earlier in the match.

“It’s my responsibility,” said Spain coach Luis Enrique, who before the match said he had asked his players to practice 1,000 penalty kicks while with their clubs. “I picked the first three penalty-takers, and then they could decide themselves. But the first three were my decision, and I would’ve done the same thing again. The only thing I wished I could do was to take Bounou out and put another goalkeeper in there.”

Spain was eliminated by host Russia in a penalty shootout at the 2018 World Cup, and by Italy in the semifinals of last year’s European Championship. The team hasn’t advanced past the last 16 at the World Cup since it won the tournament in 2010 in South Africa, according to Associated Press.

“We were unable to score ... so no matter how much we say that we deserved to win for the chances we created and for playing more in their area, it is not going to change anything,” said Spain goalkeeper Unai Simón, who stopped one penalty in the shootout. “The only thing left for us is to accept that we have been eliminated.”

It was the fifth straight time Spain played extra time in a knockout round of a major tournament. The team played 120 minutes against Russia and in all three of its knockout games at Euro 2020.

Moroccan fans were significantly outnumbered by — and were louder than — the Spaniards at Education City Stadium.

It was the second match in the round of 16 to go into extra time at this year’s World Cup. Croatia beat Japan on penalties Monday.

It was the same old Neymar out there, looking fit and scoring a goal to move closer to Pelé’s all-time record and lead Brazil into the World Cup quarterfinals.

Neymar returned from injury and converted a first-half penalty in Brazil’s 4-1 win over South Korea in the round of 16 on Monday, Associated Press reported. He reached 76 goals with the national team, one shy of the mark set by Pelé, who said he would watch the match from his hospital bed in Sao Paulo.

“I was very scared,” Neymar said. “It was very difficult after getting injured like I did. I was crying the entire night. My family knows what I had to go through. But in the end it all worked out. It was worth the effort to keep undergoing physiotherapy.”

The 82-year-old Pelé is recovering from a respiratory infection that was aggravated by COVID-19, leaving fans in Brazil and in Qatar worried about his condition. Neymar carried a banner with the soccer great’s image and “Pelé” written on it after the match, and the entire team then posed behind it near midfield.

South Korea was trying to advance past the round of 16 for the first time since its historic run to the semifinals as a co-host in 2002.

Neymar damaged ligaments in his right ankle in the team’s opening match against Serbia and at the time there were doubts if he would play again at the World Cup. He was clearly back, and there were no signs of the injury as he led Brazil to a comfortable victory and a spot in the World Cup quarterfinals for the eighth straight time.

Brazil will next play Croatia on Friday.

Neymar scored his first goal of this year’s World Cup after kissing the ball and calmly sending a low shot from the spot after waiting the goalkeeper to choose a side in the 13th minute. He danced as his teammates huddled around him, then did dance moves along with Vinícius Junior and other teammates before raising his arms to the sky and smiling broadly, according to Associated Press.

Neymar was forced out of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil after getting hurt in the quarterfinals. On Monday, he joined Pelé and Ronaldo with goals for Brazil in three different World Cups.

Fans chanted his name as he walked off the field after the match. He had been substituted in the 81st.

Vinícius Júnior scored the first goal from inside the area after a cross by Raphinha in the seventh minute, Richarlison added to the lead from close range after a nice exchange of passes by the Brazilians in the 29th, and Lucas Paquetá scored the fourth before halftime after an assist by Vinícius Júnior.

They celebrated each goal by dancing, and even Brazil coach Tite participated in Richarlison’s traditional “pigeon” celebration, Associated Press reported.

Paik Seung-ho scored South Korea’s goal in the 76th minute.

South Korea coach Paulo Bento said after the match he was quitting. The Portuguese coach took over the national team after the last World Cup and his contract was due to end after this year’s tournament.

Croatia is going deep at another World Cup, and the team is taking the long route once again.

Goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic saved three penalty kicks in Croatia’s 3-1 win over Japan in a shootout on Monday, securing a return to the quarterfinals for the runner-up in the 2018 tournament. The match was tied at 1-1 after extra time, Associated Press reported.

On its surprising run to the final in Russia four years ago, Croatia needed extra time in each round in the knockout stage — and twice came through a penalty shootout.

“History keeps repeating itself,” Croatia coach Zlatko Dalic said with a smile.

Livakovic was the backup goalkeeper to Danijel Subasic in 2018 but took center stage this time, diving to his left to keep out Japan’s first penalty by Takumi Minamino, to his right to block Kaoru Mitoma’s effort from the second penalty, and then again to his right to deny Maya Yoshida off the fourth.

That gave Mario Pasalic the chance to put away the clinching penalty. The substitute joined the rest of Croatia’s jubilant players in heading right for Livakovic after hitting the back of the net.

“In Croatia, we do things this way,” Livakovic said. “I continued the tradition.”

The similarities with 2018 do not stop there. Just like in every game in the knockout stage that year, Croatia fell behind to Japan when Daizen Maeda swept in a close-range finish in the 43rd, according to Associated Press.

Ivan Perisic equalized by meeting Dejan Lovren’s cross from the right with a header into the bottom corner from near the penalty spot in the 57th.

Dalic said his team’s ability to recover from losing positions “reflects the Croatian people,” with a nod to a psyche the players forged growing up in a country ravaged by war as the former Yugoslavia broke up in the 1990s.

“We never give up ... We have been through so much pain and the players have great pride,” Dalic said. “The whole of Croatia is supporting us and this is a way of giving them faith for a better tomorrow.”

While Croatia — also a semifinalist in 1998 — prepares to take on Brazil in the quarterfinals, Japan exits a World Cup in the round of 16 for the fourth time, just like in 2002, 2010 and 2018. The Asian team also lost in a penalty shootout to Paraguay at that stage in 2010.

Asia is still waiting for a second team to advance beyond the last 16, after South Korea on home soil in 2002.

Japan made its mark in Qatar, though, beating Germany and Spain — two of the last three World Cup champions — in huge upsets in the group stage.

“The players showed a new era of Japanese football, I think,” Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu said. “They should use this feeling of being upset and try to go further next time.

“We cannot be superheroes in one go. We have to improve step by step. But Japan is reaching a level where we can play on the world stage.”

The result guarantees at least one more World Cup game for 37-year-old Croatia captain Luka Modric, one of the best midfielders of his generation. The 2018 world player of the year had a quiet game, save for one pass with the outside of his right foot that sent Perisic away for a shot on goal in the first half, Associated Press reported.