Goncalo Ramos would not even be in Portugal's World Cup squad if not for a sudden injury to Liverpool striker Diogo Jota. Despite being a bright prospect for Benfica at club level, the 21-year-old had not played international football until last month. As a fringe player, he barely featured in the group stage and almost became the forgotten man of the European powerhouse.

However, after Portugal coach Fernando Santos stunned the world by thrusting Ramos into his starting line-up against Switzerland at the expense of Cristiano Ronaldo, the all-time top scorer in men's international football and arguably their greatest ever player, everything has changed.

Within 17 minutes of his first international start, Ramos made his presence felt by firing a sensational finish past Swiss goalkeeper Jan Sommer at the near post. And just after the hour mark, he had become the youngest player to score a World Cup hat-trick since Hungary's Florian Albert in 1962, and the youngest player to accomplish this feat in a World Cup knockout tie since Brazil legend Pele in 1958.

According to stats provider Opta, it was 6,747 days since Portugal last started a tournament match without Ronaldo, but Santos could hardly have been more vindicated by his decision to drop his captain to the bench. Apart from netting three goals, Ramos finished the match having had the most shots, shots on target and touches in the opposition box.

Ramos came through Benfica's famed youth system and established himself as the Portuguese club's leading goalscorer after his former attacking partner Darwin Nunez moved to Liverpool this summer. Ramos has thrived as a lone striker and notched nine goals and three assists in 11 domestic games. He also managed to score four goals in Champions League qualifiers and drove Benfica to top their group.

It's not hard to comprehend why Santos chose to put faith in Ramos instead of relying on his aged superstar Ronaldo. With the dynamic Ramos as the spearhead, Portugal could function as a more balanced team and initiate lightning attacks with pace and efficiency. He was consistently piling on pressure to opponents' defensive line and indefatigably chasing after every loose ball. 

It's never easy to fill the boots of your country's most iconic legend, but on the biggest night of his career Ramos stepped into the breach with great aplomb and delivered one of the most impressive individual displays in World Cup history.

To his credit, Santos didn't shy away from explaining his bold move to demote Ronaldo after Ramos' hat-trick sent Portugal to the quarterfinals of the World Cup.

"We wanted a team that played with a lot of fluidity," he told a press briefing. "Cristiano is more fixed, he stays in a more determined role towards the box. Goncalo [Ramos] has different characteristics: he is very energetic and that's what he ended up showing us."

When quizzed on whether Ronaldo would return to the starting lineup against Morocco, Santos struck a diplomatic tone. "All the players who are with me can be used," he said. "And if they are not in the starting lineup, they can play later."

It's worth noting that after the referee blew the whistle to end Switzerland's humiliation at the hands of Portugal, Ronaldo briefly applauded the fans at Lusail Iconic Stadium and then quickly rushed to the tunnel, leaving the wild celebrations to his teammates.

Perhaps, deep in his heart, Ronaldo knows Ramos deserves to start again ahead of him in the quarterfinal. He knows the time is up, and there's no going back now.