World Cup news and highlights

Gonçalo Ramos celebrates with his teammates after scoring the first of his three goals.

Portugal defeated Switzerland 6-1 to grab the final spot in the World Cup 2022 quarterfinals.

It was Gonçalo Ramos’s day. In the 17th minute, the 21-year-old Portuguese forward opened the scoring for his side. He added two more in the second half to secure a hat trick.

Pepe, Raphaël Guerreiro and Rafael Leão also added goals for Portugal. Guerreiro’s came thanks to a Ramos assist.

Cristiano Ronaldo started the game on the bench for Portugal. In the 73rd minute, the 37-year-old superstar, who is playing in his fifth World Cup, entered the game to raucous applause.

The sole goal for Switzerland came in the 58th minute when Manuel Akanji got on the end of a corner to tap in a goal and help his side avoid the shutout.

Next up for Portugal, the team will face Morocco on Saturday in the quarterfinals. Earlier today, Morocco shocked Spain in a match that needed penalty kicks to be decided.

Rafael Leão scores Portugal’s sixth goal.

Even in stoppage time, they can’t stop scoring. Rafael Leão gets a sixth Portugal goal.

Portugal 6-1 Switzerland

Ronaldo, right, prepares to enter the pitch during Tuesday’s match.

Cristiano Ronaldo started the game on the bench for Portugal. But in the 73rd minute, the 37-year-old superstar, who is playing in his fifth World Cup, entered the game to raucous applause.

His side is currently leading the Swiss, 5-1.

Ramos celebrates after scoring his third goal of the day.

Gonçalo Ramos got his third goal of the day in the 66th minute to put his side up 5-1. What a match for the 21-year-old!

Portugal 5-1 Switzerland

The Swiss are not giving up here.

Manuel Akanji gets on the end of a corner to tap in a goal and cut Portugal’s lead to three.

Portugal 4-1 Switzerland

##Portugal vs Switzerland

Raphaël Guerreiro of Portugal celebrates after scoring a goal to make it 4-0 against Switzerland at Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar on Tuesday.

Portugal is dominating the Swiss as they go up 4-0 in the second half.

After already scoring twice, Gonçalo Ramos fed Raphaël Guerreiro in the box, who blasted a left-footed shot past Yann Sommer.

Portugal 4-0 Switzerland

Gonçalo Ramos of Portugal celebrates after scoring the team's third goal past Yann Sommer of Switzerland at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar on Tuesday.

Portugal’s Gonçalo Ramos is having himself a dream of a match!

In the 51st minute, the 21-year-old forward gets his second goal of the match to give his side a commanding 3-0 lead.

Portugal 3-0 Switzerland

The second half has begun in the final Round of 16 match of World Cup 2022. Portugal went into the break with a 2-0 lead over the Swiss.

Cristiano Ronaldo was left on the bench for Portugal to start the match. Will we see the 37-year-old superstar in the second half? Let’s go!

Portugal go into the break with a 2-0 lead over Switzerland in their Round of 16 match.

Underdogs coming in, the Swiss got off to a bright start. Striker Breel Embolo had a shot deflected in the 5th minute that earned his side a corner.

But it was the Portuguese side that truly showed their quality in the first 45 minutes.

In the 17th minute, 21-year-old forward Gonçalo Ramos found the top corner of the net with a booming strike at the near post to give his side the lead. 

After the goal, Ramos continued to pester the Swiss backline and their defense appeared unlocked at times throughout the half.

In the 29th minute, Embolo earned the Swiss side a free kick when he was fouled as he drove forward in the Portuguese half. On the ensuing attempt, Xherdan Shaqiri bent one just wide of the net.

Just a few minutes later, Pepe doubled Portugal’s advantage. The 39-year-old got his head to a Portuguese corner kick to make 2-0.

Ramos nearly made it three for the Portuguese when he sprinted past Switzerland’s defense on a counterattack late in the half. A diving save by Yann Sommer kept it at 2-0. Still, the Swiss look like they’re barely hanging on going into halftime.

If the result holds, Portugal will book their spot in the World Cup quarterfinals. They would face Morocco Saturday.

Portugal's Pepe celebrates scoring their second goal with teammates at Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar on Tuesday.

In the 32nd minute, Pepe got on the end of a Portuguese corner kick to double his side’s advantage.

Portugal 2-0 Switzerland.

Switzerland's goalkeeper Yann Sommer watches the goal by Portugal's Gonçalo Ramos at the Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar on Tuesday.

What a strike from Gonçalo Ramos!

In the 17th minute, the 21-year-old Ramos found the top corner of the near post. Portugal took the lead 1-0 in the first half.

Portugal 1-0 Switzerland

##Portugal vs Switzerland

Switzerland's Manuel Akanji, left, and Portugal's Gonçalo Ramos go for a header at Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar on Tuesday.

The first half has begun in Portugal and Switzerland’s Round of 16 match.

Portugal 0-0 Switzerland

Portugal and Switzerland players walk on to the field before the match at Lusail Stadium in Lusail, Qatar on Tuesday.

Portugal takes on Switzerland in the final Round of 16 match that will decide the last team that will advance to the quarterfinals of World Cup 2022.

The Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo will begin the game on the bench as a substitute.

Here are today’s starting lineups:

Portugal

Goalkeeper: Diogo Costa

Defenders: Diogo Dalot, Pepe, Ruben Dias, Raphael Guerreiro

Midfielders: Bernardo Silva, William, Otavio

Forwards: Bruno Fernandes, Joao Felix, Goncalo Ramos

—

Switzerland

Goalkeeper: Yann Sommer

Defenders: Edimilson Fernandes, Manuel Akanji, Ricardo Rodriguez, Fabian Schaer

Midfielders: Remo Freuler, Granit Xhaka, Mohameth Sow, Ruben Vargas, Xherdan Shaqiri

Forwards: Breel Embolo

Fans show their support before the match between Portugal and Switzerland at Lusail Stadium in Lusail City, Qatar on Tuesday.

The knockout stages are filled with extra tension this tournament for Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo as he seeks to win football’s biggest trophy with his country in what is likely to be his last World Cup ever.

His side will line up at the Lusail Stadium as the slight favorite against Switzerland in its round of 16 match, but the Portuguese have already suffered a surprise defeat in Qatar.

Portugal seemed to be cruising through the group stages, defeating Ghana and Uruguay to confirm a spot in the knockout stages with a match to spare but succumbed to a shock defeat against South Korea in the last group stage match, after Hwang Hee-chan scored a 91st-minute winner off a Son Heung-min pass.

Despite this, Portugal will be buoyed by the expected return of midfielder Otávio who has missed the last two games with a thigh injury as well as star defender Rúben Dias who was rested against the Taegeuk Warriors.

Switzerland, meanwhile, navigated a difficult group with victories against Cameroon and Serbia seeing them through to the knockout stages despite a loss to Brazil.

The last time the two sides met was in the Nations League in June when Portugal dismantled Switzerland 4-0 in Lisbon. However, Switzerland then recovered to win the return fixture 1-0 a week later.

“For me, it is gonna be totally different because there is no friendly game. This is no Nations League – the pressure is high, and so now, it’s important how the players deal with this pressure,” Switzerland midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri said on Sunday, according to Reuters.

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Morocco makes history!

It secured a spot in the quarterfinals for the first time in its history after beating Spain in a shootout. It’s also the first time that an Arab country has made it into the quarterfinals.

The Moroccan goalkeeper saved three shots from Spain — along with an innumerable number of attacks on his goal from La Furia Roja during 120 minutes of play — to give a fighting chance to the Atlas Lions to advance to the quarter finals.

Then Abdelhamid Sabiri, Hakim Ziyech and Achraf Hakimi all buried the ball in the back of the net, shooting it past Unai Simón to earn an entry in the World Cup 2022 quarterfinals.

After 90 minutes of regulation and two 15-minute periods of extra time, Morocco and Spain’s Round of 16 match will be decided by a shootout.

How it works: Each team was given the chance to take five penalty kicks, and whoever scored the most won.

Here’s a look at how the shootout went down:

Morocco

Kick 1: ⚽️ Abdelhamid Sabiri 

Kick 2: ⚽️ Hakim Ziyech

Kick 3: ❌ Badr Benoun

Kick 4: ⚽️ Achraf Hakimi

Kick 5: Not needed

—

Spain

Kick 1: ❌ Pablo Sarabia

Kick 2: ❌ Carlos Soler

Kick 3: ❌ Sergio Busquets

Kick 4: Not needed

Kick 5: Not needed

There’s fatigue on the pitch now, without any moments of elation yet.

It’s the end of two 15-minute periods, which gave Morocco and Spain extra time to take the lead and advance to the quarterfinals. However, since neither teams scored, and the match remains tied at 0-0, the outcome of this game will be decided via penalty shootouts.

Each team will get to take five penalty kicks. Whoever scores the most wins. If they tie, we go to sudden death.

Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi battles for possession with Spain’s Alejandro Balde.

Spain and Morocco are battling it out in the last 15 minutes of extra time in the second period.

If it’s still tied after this period, the teams will take penalty kicks to decide who moves on to the quarterfinals.

Spain’s goalkeeper Unai Simon makes a save.

The first 15-minute period of extra time has come to an end with no scores to show again on either side.

Morocco and Spain still stand at 0-0.

The Atlas Lions and La Furia Roja have kicked off extra time.

It’s the second match of the tournament to need more than the 90 minutes of regulation play to decide the winner. The first was Croatia vs Japan.

Here’s how this will work: Because neither team could find the winner before the end of full-time, they’ll now play two 15-minute periods of extra time.

If still tied after that, the teams will take penalty kicks to decide who moves on to the quarterfinals.