If you did not know the name of Goncalo Ramos, you certainly do now.
The Portuguese striker replaced Cristiano Ronaldo in the starting XI against Switzerland and did not skip a heartbeat. In fact, he seemed to rise under the pressure and scored a hattrick and provided an assist as well, as the Portugal national team won 6-1 on their way to a quarter-final berth against Morocco. Interestingly, the Benfica forward has been linked with Real Madrid already in the past.
It was one of the all-time great performances in a World Cup knockout stage and it pretty much makes sure that he is now ahead of Ronaldo in the Portuguese pecking order, and is expected to start against Morocco.
It is worth pointing out that Ramos has been linked with Real Madrid in the past as well but his performance against Switzerland would have caught the eye of several other clubs around Europe as well.
His former Benfica U19 coach, Joao Nuno Fonseca, appears to believe that he would be a good fit at Real Madrid though. As reported by GianlucaDiMarzio.com, he said.
"And I would see Ramos well at Real: for me he is the perfect assistant to Benzema, in view of a future passing of the baton."
Ramos’ performance against Switzerland would not have come as a surprise to those who have followed his rise at Benfica.
Last season, he had taken a bit of a backseat while Darwin Nunez was enjoying his breakout season but with the Uruguayan joining Liverpool, it has allowed Ramos to show what he is capable of himself.
According to stats from Transfermarkt, he has scored 14 goals and provided 6 assists in 21 appearances for Benfica this season.
Real Madrid have recently been linked with a potential big money move to sign Nunez from Liverpool, but it might very well be his former Benfica teammate that they should consider going after instead.