The name Gonçalo Ramos may not have ringed a bell in the ears of even the hard core football fans until Tuesday, December 6.
Truly, Portugal has found a new star in the striker who replaced Darwin Nunez, who moved from Benfica to Liverpool for €100 million in June.
The 21-year-old stepped up on football's biggest stage, the FIFA World Cup, as he made history by being the first player to score a hat-trick in his debut Mundial game. The Benfica striker who replaced Cristiano Ronaldo in the starting line-up was in his element at the Lusail Stadium as he netted a hat-trick in Portugal's 6-1 humiliation of Switzerland. Ramos was the star in a game against a country which had been a bogey side prior to the tournament.
Replacing Ronaldo against Switzerland for his full international debut, Ramos opened the scoring in the 17th minute at the Lusail stadium with a rocket strike inside the near post. Ramos struck again, after half time, as he got on the end of defender Diogo Dalot's low cross in the 51st minute, before helping tee up Raphael Guerreiro's goal four minutes later.
He completed his hat trick with a deft chip over an onrushing goalkeeper Yann Sommer, becoming the youngest male player to score three goals in a World Cup knockout match since Brazil legend Pele in 1958.
Ramos’ strengths include his ability to finish quickly with either foot. And, he looks confident on the big stage too, an indication that he could become a consistent goal scorer at the highest level.
Born in the Portuguese city of Olha on June 20, 2001, Ramos started his career with the youth teams of Olhanense and Loule before moving to the Benfica Academy in 2013. He was promoted to the senior side in June 2020 and has so far netted 20 goals in 45 games.
He has already been described as Cristiano Ronaldo's apparent heir as the superstar gets to the twilight of his career.
The budding attacker has featured for Portugal in all national team age groups before making his senior debut for the Navigators on November 17, in a friendly against Nigeria. He scored the third goal and assisted the fourth as his side cruised to an emphatic 4-0 win.
Should Portugal beat Morocco or not in the quarter finals, Ramos has already embedded his name in the FIFA World Cup history books for his exploits against Switzerland in Qatar.
According to reports, Ramos was linked with moves to Manchester United and Newcastle United in November, while PSG, Wolves and Brighton also have been eyeing him.
Reports also indicate that Benfica had wanted at least €40m from interested clubs, but that figure is likely to shoot up after his efforts in Qatar. If he continues to shine, who knows what the likes of Real Madrid and Liverpool, or others, might do? Good luck Ramos.