Portugal’s Ramos supplants Ronaldo

Just imagine the thoughts going through Cristiano Ronaldo’s head as he trudged off the field after playing about 20 minutes as a substitute in one of Portugal’s greatest victories?

Tuesday’s 6-1 rout of Switzerland propelled Portugal into the World Cup quarterfinals, and it felt like the team’s biggest star could hardly get off the field quick enough.

So, where does this leave Ronaldo? Already without a club, he is now likely to be second choice behind Goncalo Ramos, who stepped in and scored a hat-trick on soccer’s biggest stage, when his national team takes on Morocco on Saturday.

Portugal coach Fernando Santos threw Ronaldo a lifeline on Wednesday, saying he’d continue to select players according to the strengths and weaknesses of the team’s opponent. But it’s hard to believe Ramos will lose his place now.

“I will use what I believe is the right strategy, as I have done my entire life,” Santos said, as bullish as ever.

France-England

With five goals at the World Cup so far, Kylian Mbappé is living up to his reputation as the man most likely to succeed Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as soccer’s biggest star. Spare a thought then for Kyle Walker, who is set to mark the France striker when England takes on the defending champions in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

“I do understand what I need to do and that’s obviously to stop him,” the Manchester City right back said Wednesday.

Walker has faced the Frenchman three times in the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain, winning twice and losing once. Mbappe only managed to score one goal in those three games.

Belgium

Belgium forward Eden Hazard retired from international soccer, nearly a week after his country’s aging generation of stars was eliminated from the World Cup. The 31-year-old winger made his debut with the national team in 2008 at age 17. He made 126 appearances and scored 33 goals.

Germany

After a third straight disappointing performance at a major tournament, the German soccer federation announced head coach Hansi Flick will stay on, but German league chief executive Donata Hopfen will leave at the end of the month by mutual agreement.