Cristiano Ronaldo is our leader, always tries to help us: Goncalo Ramos after hat-trick in FIFA World Cup Round of 16

Portugal striker Goncalo Ramos heaped praise on Cristiano Ronaldo for being a ‘leader’ and communicating with his teammates on a consistent basis.

The 37-year-old Ronaldo didn’t start in Portugal’s FIFA World Cup 2022 Round of 16 match against Switzerland at Lusail Stadium.

It was only in the 73rd minute that he replaced Joao Felix, but didn’t have enough chance to score a goal. He managed to find the net once, but it was ruled out for off-side. Ronaldo currently has eight goals in World Cup finals, one behind Argentina’s Lionel Messi and France’s Kyllian Mbappe.

“Cristiano Ronaldo talks to me and everyone in the team. He’s our leader and always tries to help,” Ramos was quoted as saying after the match.

As far as Ramos is concerned, he became the first to score a hat-trick in the ongoing edition of the World Cup. The 21-year-old announced himself by racking up Portugal’s fourth hat-trick in the World Cup finals.

Ramos made sure that Portugal defeated Switzerland 6-1 to win their Round of 16 match. Portugal are next scheduled to lock horns with the high-flying Morocco, who, earlier on Tuesday, defeated Spain 3-0 on penalties.

In the 74th minute of the match, Ramos went out and was substituted by Ricardo Horta. After Ramos went off the park, Rafael Leao notched a goal to make it 6-1 for the Portuguese unit.

Portugal reached the quarterfinals of the World Cup for only the third time after 1966 and 2006. Earlier, they failed to secure victories in five knockout games in a row in the World Cup.