Swiss Nati concedes 6:1 defeat at the Football World Cup 2022

Before the start of the match, the chances for both teams to successfully play their way into the quarterfinals of the 2022 World Cup were about the same. Perhaps the Portuguese were seen as having a bit more potential. But the Swiss Nati played a very strong preliminary round and convinced with a strong squad, with a good combination play, a strong defense and a closed system that was well coordinated.

And promptly the first quarter of an hour was quite even. Switzerland controlled the midfield and hardly allowed any action from the Portuguese, although they were quick to get in front of the opponent's goal with quick advances. Coach Fernando Santos left his superstar Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench today and replaced him with Goncalo Ramos. And this seems to have been a stroke of luck, after all it was exactly this Goncalo Ramos who scored the first goal in the 16th minute after a throw-in by Raphael Guerreiro and the forwarding of the throw-in by Joao Felix into the penalty area in front of his feet with a 106 km/h shot into the upper left corner where the Swiss goalkeeper Jan Sommer was standing. Wow, now there was atmosphere in the Portuguese team. Advance after advance now lined up, scoring chance after scoring chance. In the 32nd minute, the time had come. The experienced defender Pepe converted a corner kick thanks to his powerful leap into the air with his head into the Swiss goal. Now the class difference was sealed. With this 2:0 for the Portuguese, it went into the break.

Actually, the Swiss team had to react now, but on their side they clearly lacked the class and the playfulness to push forward and pull the trigger. The statistics are clear. The Swiss had more possession with 46% than the Portuguese with 42%, Switzerland was also able to score on advances and penetrations, but the Portuguese defense quickly put an end to it. The Portuguese team was x-times more efficient and more likely to score. Their fast forays with direct passes regularly outmaneuvered the Swiss defense. And the Portuguese didn't flinch for long, they had the momentum on their side.

In the 50th minute, right-back Diogo Dalot moved quickly past Ruben Vargas on the right side of the Swiss penalty area and shot in front of goal right at the feet of Goncalo Ramos, who scored his second goal: 3:0 Portugal: Switzerland. Now things were starting to look clear. Just four minutes later, defender Raphael Guerreiro scored with a spirited shot after a swift advance down the left into the Swiss penalty area to make it 4-0. another three minutes later, Switzerland managed to score their first goal off a corner kick, thanks to Manuel Akanji. but it was clear to everyone that things were over for Switzerland at this point. Switzerland would never, ever score four goals with their play so far. Now the spaces opened up for the Portuguese as well. Barely 10 minutes later Joao Felix put the ball in front of his goal scorer Goncalo Ramos through the middle and he converted for the third time this evening: 5:1 Portugal: Switzerland. After another five minutes, the Portuguese coach took out Ramos and brought on Ronaldo, who the crowd had been clamoring for. His appearance alone in the "football manger" brought the crowd to its feet. Now the drop had been sucked. There were substitutions here and there and the late substitution of striker Rafael Leao thanked him with a magnificent goal in the 92nd minute for the final result of 6:1 Portugal: Switzerland.