Goncalo Romes scores hat-trick, Portugal to meet Morocco in the third quarterfinal
Report: Abdul Jabbar Faisal
ISLAMABAD: Portugal outclassed Switzerland 6-1 in the last pre-quarterfinal of the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2022 at Lusail Football Stadium in Doha, Qatar in the wee hours of Wednesday. Also, the top-eight stage line-up is completed and four times champions Brazil will meet Croatia in the first quarterfinal of the prestigious quadrennial fixture of the soccer world.
In the last pre-quarterfinal of the Qatar Football World Cup, both teams began the game with a bit slothful pace and tries to maintain control of the ball. During the first 15 minutes of the first half, spectators did not see any teamwork or joint effort to target the opponents’ goalpost. Players were shifting the ball with long passes and not eager to make any combined move from the left or right corner, as the ball remained in the middle during the first 15 minutes.
Portugal entered the pitch without world-famous soccer player Christina Ronaldo, Goncalo Romes jolted the challenger by scoring the first goal of the match from the left side to put his team in driving seat 1-0 in a knock-out stage of the top international sports fixture of the world. Later, they wasted a couple of occasions in the 21st and 22nd minutes of the match, as kicks were on target but could not prove fruitful.
Pope, 39, doubled the lead after neatly netting the ball in the 33rd minute of the match on a right flank corner kick and rotated the scoreboard 2-0. Before the second goal, Shaqiri missed a chance to level the game 1-1 in the 30th minute. Sow also failed to head the ball properly in the goalpost, as he was in the box and in front of the goal line in the 38th minute of the first half. At the halfway stage of the match, Portugal were leading 2-0 in the last fixture of the top-16 team’s round.
Meanwhile, in the second part of the encounter, Portugal showed their class and struck the third goal in the 51st minute of the match, this was again Goncalo Romes, who guided the ball in the right direction to make the score line 3-0. Raphael Guerreiro added the 4th goal in the 55th minute from a left-side move. He did not neglect the chance to score a goal after receiving a fine pass from his teammate. Raphael comfortably steered the ball into the net.
Switzerland’s striker, Manuel Akanji reduced the deficit after scoring the goal in the 58th minute of the match, as Portugal’s players showed some leniency after scoring the 4th goal. Hero of the day, Goncalo Romes inked a new record after scoring three goals to make a median hat-trick in the Qatar World Cup 2022, as this was 5th goal of the winning team in the do-or-die encounter. Portugal’s coach sent Christina Ronaldo to the field 18 minutes before the final whistle. The substitute player Rafael Laeo scored the sixth goal in injury time to make the scoreboard 6-1.
Portugal XIs:
D Costa (Goalkeeper), R Gurreiro, R Dias, Pepe, D Dalot, B Silva, W Carvallho, Otavio, B Femandes, Goncalo Romes, J Fellix
Switzerland XIs:
Y Sommer (Goalkeeper), E Fermandes, F Schar, M Akanji, R Rodringuez, R Freuler, G Xhaka, X Shaqiri, D Sow, R Varges, B Embolo
Quarterfinals Line-up:
1st Quarterfinal: Brazil vs Croatia
2nd Quarterfinal: Argentina vs Netherlands
3rd Quarterfinal: Morocco vs Portugal
4th Quarterfinal: France vs England
1st Semifinal on December 9, 2022
2nd Semifinal on December 10, 2022
3rd Position Play-off on December 17, 2022
Final on December 18, 2022
