Portugal put six past Luxembourg


By Neo Poho

It was another clinical performance from Portugal as Cristiano Ronaldo led from the front to guide his side to a 6-0 victory against Luxembourg in group J of the 2024 UEFA EURO qualifiers at the Luxembourg Stadium on Sunday night.

Fresh from thrashing Liechtenstein in their opening group J match on Thursday, Portugal began where they left off as Ronaldo broke the deadlock in the 9th minute before Joao Felix and Bernardo Silva scored in a space of three minutes to put Portugal 3-0 up in the opening 20 minutes.

Ronaldo was at it again when he scored his brace in the 31st minute of the encounter as the visitors went to halftime leading 4-0.

With the two teams heading into the second half with Portugal still showing some aggression in front of goal, substitutes Otavio and Rafael Leao scored the fifth and sixth goal late in the second half to conclude another stellar performance from Roberto Martinez's charges.

After scoring two goals against Liechtenstein on Thursday, Ronaldo further extended his record as Portugal's leading scorer in European Championship qualifiers, taking his tally to 35 goals in 37 appearances.

The victory means that Portugal have now won two consecutive matches without conceding a goal to make sure Martinez's tenure starts on a positive note.

Meanwhile earlier on England defeated Ukraine 2-0 at Wembley in a group C encounter of the 2024 UEFA EURO qualifiers as Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka continued with their exceptional form in front of goal.

Kane broke the deadlock in the 37th minute of the encounter before Saka scored three minutes later as England held on for another comfortable victory after beating Italy 2-1 on Thursday.

After the victory, England manager Gareth Southgate praised his players and specifically congratulated the midfield trio of Jordan Henderson, Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham for a clinical performance against Ukraine.

"I love being part of this team, they are a joy to work with. When the new players come in the older players make it easy for them to settle and I was very impressed with how Henderson, Rice and Bellingham connected tonight, it was a marvel to watch," Southgate said.

The victory means that England are currently occupying the first spot in group C of the UERO qualifiers having played two matches and winning two.

Article Tags

Football

2024 EURO Qualifiers

Portugal

Cristiano Ronaldo

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