Portugal’s World Cup hat-trick hero can succeed Benzema at Real Madrid, claims ex-coach | OneFootball

Portugal booked their place in the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2022 yesterday, thanks to a stunning 6-1 win over Switzerland. And it was Goncalo Ramos who stole the limelight, grabbing a brilliant hat-trick on his first-ever start for the national team.

Portugal manager Fernando Santos made a huge call before kickoff, as he opted to bench his captain and former Real Madrid superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo, in favour of Ramos. And the decision paid off handsomely, with the 21-year-old rising to the occasion.

The SL Benfica ace’s hat-trick meant that he now has more World Cup knockout goals than Ronaldo, despite having played just one such game.

Ramos is a product of Benfica’s youth academy and has grown into a vital player for the first-team setup, bagging 28 goals and ten assists. He has been directly involved in 20 goals in 21 matches in the 2022/23 season for his club and has carried that form to the World Cup.

And, one of Ramos’ former coaches at the Benfica youth team, Joao Fonseca, has claimed that the young Portuguese could be the ideal player to act as the deputy to Karim Benzema at Real Madrid before taking over from the Frenchman.

Talking in an interview with Luca Bendoni for GianlucaDiMarzio.com, Fonseca said: “It is precisely at Real Madrid that I would see Ramos well: for me, he is the perfect deputy for Benzema, with a view to a future passing on of the baton.”

Benzema will be turning 35 in a couple of weeks and has had injury problems of late. So, Real Madrid need to start planning for the future, especially given that they do not have a proper quality centre-forward as backup for the Frenchman currently.

Brazilian prodigy Endrick is set to sign for Los Blancos imminently, although he will not be arriving at the club until 2024 when he turns 18.

With Ramos making the world take notice of his abilities in the game against Switzerland, it will be interesting to see if Real Madrid do explore the possibility of a move for the 21-year-old, who, along with Endrick, could form a long-term centre-forward unit at the club.