Joao Felix, Pepe and Goncalo Ramos were keen to downplay any connection between the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal’s brilliant performance in the last 16 of the World Cup.
Ronaldo was sensationally dropped by coach Fernando Santos for the clash with Switzerland following a string of poor performances and unhelpful distractions.
21-year-old Ramos stepped in and hit a hat-trick on his World Cup debut in a 6-1 win that appeared to prove that Portugal are no longer reliant on their all-time top scorer.
Ramos himself was the first to rally around Ronaldo after the match, saying:…
