PORTUGAL fans, imagine. It's the last 16 at the World Cup. You have a young forward who wants a chance to prove himself. So the coach puts him in over Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the most famous sportspersons in history. The result is one of the all-time great hat-tricks in a 6-1 demolition.
Anyway, enough about that Goncalo Ramos treble in a complete display over Switzerland in the pre-quarterfinals of the last World Cup. In a few days' time, when it's time for Portugal to face Spain for a place in the last eight, coach Roberto Martinez has a real dilemma on his hands. Does he stick with Ronaldo, the legendary footballer whose capacity to fight father time is diminishing day by day? Does he play Ramos, whose header against Croatia on Thursday evening proved to be the winner? Or does he opt for a secret third option — start both?
The Ramos, Ronaldo dynamic was once again front and centre on Thursday evening at a packed Toronto Stadium. Both of them scored but you would be hard pressed to say both of those goals were of the same value. While Ronaldo scored from the penalty spot — his first in a knockout match across six World Cups — Ramos' header to win it for them in injury time was the kind of goal his more illustrious compatriot used to score when his body and mind were in sync.
It was also telling that when Ramos came up with the game's clutch moment, Ronaldo was watching from the sidelines, substituted by Martinez. It was a shock when his number was up on the board and it seemed like it wasn't a move pre-decided with the captain. As soon as Ronaldo saw his number, there was a slight hesitation on his face. A denial of sorts before he forced himself off the playing area.
On the evidence of what Martinez and Portugal's other coaches had seen, the only surprise was they had kept him out for the first 81 minutes. The numbers just do not make for a good reading. He had a total of one touch in the opposition box: the touch was when he scored that penalty. There were no pressing triggers, he didn't engage himself in any duels and his presence in Portugal's build-up was non-existent. To be fair to him, there was one moment when he rolled back the decades with an expertly-taken finish. But by the time he had caressed the ball home, the linesman's flag was already up for offside.
After their first match against Congo ended in a disappointing 1-1 draw, Martinez had queried why he would take off Ronaldo when they needed a goal. He kind of answered his own question on Thursday. While Ruben Neves replaced him with nine minutes to go, his actual replacement was Ramos. The PSG striker, somebody who has won back-to-back Champions League titles, wasted no time in putting himself about. The pressing was instantaneous. Here's a number. Ronaldo registered 16 indirect pressing actions and zero direct pressing actions. For Ramos, that number was 26 and three. He was actively taking part in the Out of Possession phase, something most modern strikers have to do.
When the moment came, the 25-year-old was waiting. Rafael Leao, who was all quick feet and imagination throughout, clipped a delicious cross. Ramos rose highest and diverted the ball beyond the reach of the Croatia goalkeeper and into the bottom corner. It was the kind of header centre-forwards gorge upon when at the top of their game.
So what happens now is the question on the lips of a lot of people. Versus Croatia, even the substitutions were kind of political because Ronaldo wasn't withdrawn for Ramos. The young forward was part of a quadruple substitution in the 62nd minute before he played as the No. 9 after Ronaldo was withdrawn 20 minutes later.
The next chapter could be Ronaldo's last ever international game. Or it could finally set them on their way to the promised land for the first time ever. Monday afternoon against Spain can't come soon enough.
Thursday's results: Spain 3-0 Austria; Portugal 2-1 Croatia; Switzerland 2-0 Algeria.