Cristiano Ronaldo dropped: Portugal can win World Cup without him, says Ian Wright - 'This team can do it without him'
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Updated 07/12/2022 at 10:47 GMT
Cristiano Ronaldo's demotion to the bench made all the pre-match headlines prior to Portugal facing Switzerland in the World Cup last 16, but after Fernando Santos's side demolished their opponents 6-1, it was hat-trick hero Goncalo Ramos who was most talked-about in the aftermath. And ITV's Ian Wright reckoned it shows that Portugal can be successful without their ageing talisman.
'They are better without him' - Analysis after Ronaldo dropped by Portugal
Portugal can go on to win the World Cup without Cristiano Ronaldo, reckons Ian Wright, after they thrashed Switzerland 6-1 with their skipper dropped to the bench.
Ronaldo's demotion made all the pre-match headlines before the last-16 clash, but - astoundingly - it was his relatively unknown replacement, 21-year-old Goncalo Ramos who took full advantage, scoring a stunning hat-trick as he led his side into the quarter-finals.
With the likes of Joao Felix - still only 23 - also impressing in the win, it led Wright to speculate on the future prospects of Portugal without Ronaldo.
"That's a team that can easily go all the way," ex-England striker Wright began on ITV Sport.
"And he [Ronaldo] could still really contribute to this team without maybe having to do so much, because this team can do it without him.
"They've proved that before in the Euros [winning in 2016] and they've done it today. They were dynamic without him.
"If he just gets it all right in his head, he could still end up scoring the winning goal for them in the final."
Before the game and after the teams had been announced, Gary Neville had criticised Ronaldo for the petulance that seemingly cost him his place in the XI, and that recently saw him leave Manchester United under a cloud.
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Portugal's midfielder #08 Bruno Fernandes jokes with forward #26 Goncalo Ramos as Portugal's defender #05 Raphael Guerreiro (out of frame) celebrates after scoring his team's fourth goal during the Qatar 2022 World Cup round of 16 football match between P
Image credit: Getty Images
But alongside Wright, Neville sought to correct claims of sulking from Ronaldo during the game, which some people had claimed via images circulating on social media.
"He celebrated like crazy for the first two goals," Neville said.
"He wasn't sulking, he went and celebrated with Pepe, with Ramos on both goals.
"It looked like he was miserable on social media - that's not the case."
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