Cristiano Ronaldo's replacement, Goncalo Ramos, scores stunning hat-trick on his World Cup debut

Goncalo Ramos enjoyed a brilliant World Cup debut as he scored a stunning hat-trick and recorded an assist during Portugal's big win over Switzerland.

Ramos, who replaced Cristiano Ronaldo in the starting XI, starred as Portugal beat Switzerland 6-1 at the Lusail Stadium to book their spot in the next round of the tournament.

The Benfica forward opened the scoring in the 17th minute after smashing home a thunderous strike into the back of net, leaving Yann Sommer with no chance.

He bagged his second goal of the night just after the break, poking home close range after Diogo Dalot fired a ball across the box.

Goncalo Ramos celebrates after scoring for Portugal. Image: Alamy

The 21-year-old then completed his hat-trick in the 67th minute when he ran through on goal and stabbed the ball over Sommer.

And if that wasn't enough, he also registered an assist as he slid in Raphael Guerreiro, who hit a stunning strike into the roof of the net.

Ramos has three World Cup knockout goals to his name, unlike Ronaldo who has never scored in a knockout fixture at a World Cup.

It's also the first hat-trick of the tournament as he introduces himself to the world stage in emphatic fashion.

Needless to say, Ramos' superb outing sent social media wild.

One Twitter user wrote: "Well, if you’re going to take the place of Ronaldo, that’s the way you do it. What a goal from Ramos. What a call from Santos."

A second tweeted: "That is one hell of a way to introduce yourself on the world stage, what a match for Goncalo Ramos."

A third added: "Goncalo Ramos has scored more goals in the knockout stages of World Cups than Cristiano Ronaldo."

A fourth commented: "Took Goncalo Ramos 67 mins to score times three of Ronaldo’s 2022 WC goal."

Portugal resume their Qatar venture on Saturday when they face Morocco for a spot in semi-finals.