Gonçalo Ramos, the AC Milan striker, started in Portugal's lineup during the current international break, taking the place of Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese football legend, becoming a party to a conflict that erupted between his teammate and coach Jorge Jesus.
Ronaldo left the Portugal camp following his crisis with Jesus, leaving the task of leading the attack to Ramos, who did not disappoint his national team's fans by scoring the winning goal against Norway, then adding another goal in the 4-0 victory over Denmark.
According to Squawka, Portugal's national team exhibits greater attacking effectiveness when it has possession of the ball. In Ronaldo's absence, the team achieved possession rates of 38% against Norway and 46% against Denmark, yet won both matches while creating more chances than in the Wales game, despite having 62% possession with Ronaldo involved.
Comparing the duo, Ronaldo's last assist for Portugal came 17 matches ago, nearly two years prior, specifically in November 2024 against Poland, whereas Ramos created a goal against Denmark this week.
Ramos created three chances in the match against Denmark—the same number Ronaldo produced in his last eight appearances for the national team. The last time the 41-year-old player created three chances for teammates in a single match was in September 2024 against Croatia.
The Rossoneri striker had three clear-cut scoring opportunities against Denmark, a figure Ronaldo has not achieved in six matches (since the last friendly before the World Cup). Although Ramos missed two of those chances, simply reaching them is an advantage in itself compared to Ronaldo.
In fact, across five matches played for Portugal in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers and the current UEFA Nations League competitions, Ramos averages 2.1 big chances, 0.74 expected goals (xG), and 36.6 touches per 90 minutes.
Conversely, Ronaldo participated in six matches in those same tournaments; excluding penalties, he averaged 1.1 clear chances, 0.35 expected goals (xG), and 29.2 touches per 90 minutes.
