Portugal explodes in the World Cup without Cristiano

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Cristiano

no longer has a bull.

He is no longer immune to the sins of the ego.

And the degradation, even more footballing than emotional, has even broken that last bubble of the Portuguese team in which he still believed he was safe.

With the forward screwed on the bench, inhospitable territory for someone like him, Portugal exploded, devastated Switzerland, won a cross against Morocco in the quarterfinals, and finally discovered what was behind a mirror that only returned an image.

And there appeared a footballer with star ways:

.

That young striker from Benfica, just 21 years old, just needed a big stage to show off.

He scored three goals in his first start at a World Cup, displaying all the records that differentiate a good striker from an excellent one.

And he claimed not only that the position should be his, but that he is more worth living in the present than in the past.

The delicate foot of

also appeared , who appreciates playing without the shackles and demands of

, no matter how much, when he finds a destination, he can take advantage of what he has learned.

As if that were not enough, the Portuguese team saw that there are those who age well, like

, who after turning his head into a hammer after a corner kick became the second oldest player to score in a World Cup.

He did it at 39 years and 283 days. Only Cameroonian

is ahead , who scored a goal at the age of 42 in the 1994 World Cup in the United States.

Although, beyond Gonçalo Ramos, the one who won the most in the golden vessel of Lusail was the coach

.

Not only did he mediate a leadership in the dressing room that was not expected, but he has become strong now that Cristiano has lost favor with the capital pieces of the booth, not with an audience that spent the night demanding his presence and went crazy when he came out a quarter of an hour from the end.

The former Manchester United player, who had sent the coach to pasture after changing him against Korea ("You're in a fucking hurry to take me away. Don't fuck with me!"), could already be a substitute against Switzerland.

If Santos was looking for an excuse, he found the best.

The only time Cristiano had been left out of the starting eleven at a World Cup was at the age of 21, the age of Gonçalo Ramos, at Germany 2010. Now caught up in his obsession with matching and surpassing the nine goals scored by the legend

(only in the 1966 World Cup, one more than Cristiano in his five World Cups), and willing to end his days as a footballer bathing in the black gold of Saudi Arabia, the striker insists that his outcome is not up to the standards of his career.

As if that were not enough, a goal was annulled at the end for clear offside.

Without ties in a deployment that was conditioned by the brand new substitute, Portugal was able to enjoy a great deal against that Switzerland of

and

that was much less competitive than it was in its political-sporting battle against Serbia.

The Eagles only needed to pull on the intelligence of Joao Félix, sublime in his inside pass, and the power of Gonçalo Ramos to take flight.

The Benfica striker is right-handed.

No one would have thought it when they saw the tremendous kick with the left boot, and the squad, which left

speechless .

The Swiss goalkeeper only had time to move his eyes, not his hands.

Shaqiri tried to respond with a direct free kick from far away, but Portugal quelled that attempt at a Swiss uprising thanks to Pepe insisting on not losing his vitality.

He devoured

in a corner, and the Portuguese, with an hour to go, did not relax.

They went for more.

Gonçalo Ramos sublimated a cross from Dalot with the toe of his boot.

took advantage of the Swiss steppes.

And when Switzerland looked for some makeup on Akanji's goal, Joao Félix found the Benfica striker again, delicate when dodging Sommer for the third time.

Portugal has such a team that can afford someone like

to be a substitute , who closed the night with one last parabolic work of art.

They could already acclaim Cristiano, the fallen hero, in Lusail.

Portugal already knows that it does not need it.

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