On a dramatic day of World Cup action, two Manchester United players are into the quarter finals of the World Cup after Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot helped Portugal trounce Switzerland 6-1 at the Lusail Stadium.
Bruno Fernandes grabbed an assist after an excellent delivery from a corner that was headed home by 39-year-old Pepe, who captained the side in the absence of former United player, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Pepe becomes the second oldest scorer at a World Cup with his first international goals for over 4 years!! 🇵🇹
40 years old in 3 months and he's still getting on the scoresheet in the big games… 👀#ITVFootball | #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/ikhXkgrkeE
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) December 6, 2022
Before Pepe made it 2-0 with his header from a Fernandes corner, it was Ronaldo’s replacement, Goncalo Ramos, who opened the scoring after he turned Fabian Schar to rifle home an unstoppable left-foot strike.
The goal that started Goncalo Ramos' hat-trick against Switzerland 🥵#BBCWorldCup #BBCFootball https://t.co/w1lLLWij6U
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) December 6, 2022
Ramos, who plays for Portuguese side Benfica scored his second of the game after turning home a Diogo Dalot cross from the right. This was Dalot’s second assist in as many games and it shows that Santos’ vindication in selecting him over Manchester City’s Joao Cancelo paid off in this game.
Diogo Dalot’s game by numbers vs. Switzerland:
100% duels won
89% pass accuracy
50 touches
4/4 tackles won
2/2 long ball completed
2 block
1 goal line clearance
1 interception
1 assistPortugal’s RB. 🙌🙌🙌 pic.twitter.com/Vd6Z43M1TJ
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) December 6, 2022
Santos got the big calls right tonight by selecting Ramos and Dalot. Ramos completed his hat-trick in the 67th minute.
However, should Portugal progress far in this competition, then Dalot can expect tougher tests than tonight but his form in this World Cup and for United should give the confidence and belief that he can take on the very best.
Bruno Fernandes continued his fine World Cup campaign as he took his tally of assists to three, having recorded two assists in Portugal’s opening game of the tournament against Ghana, in which they won 3-2.
3 assists and 2 goals in 3 World Cup appearances so far for Bruno Fernandes — too easy for some.
My midfielder ❤️ pic.twitter.com/u3PoNgcIx3
— UF (@UtdFaithfuls) December 6, 2022
The other Last 16 game that took place today was between Morocco and Spain and that game kicked off at 3pm UK time. The game was 0-0 after ninety minutes and the teams could not be seperated after extra-time, which meant that penalties had to be taken.
Despite manager Luis Enrique saying that Spain had practised penalties ever since landing in Qatar [Goal], Spain failed to convert a single spot-kick in the shootout against Morocco, who scored two of their penalties to seal a 2-0 penalty shootout win and send themselves through to the quarter finals.
Next up for Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot is a quarter final clash against Morocco, who defended brilliantly against Spain and looked dangerous every time they went forward, so this encounter will not be an easy one for Portugal if they are to advance to the last four of the World Cup.