Ronaldo leads Portugal through Euro qualifiers

Portugal Striker Cristiano Ronaldo scored a double to help the home team beat Slovakia 3-2, to enter the Euro 2024 finals three matches early.

Scorers: Ramos 18, Ronaldo pen 29, 72 - Hancko 69, Lobotka 80

A penalty and an empty net helped Ronaldo take Portugal's tally to 125 goals in 202 games. More importantly, the 38-year-old captain became the first player in history to qualify for the Euros six times, where he is second on the scoring list behind Romelu Lukaku.

Ronaldo celebrates scoring the second goal for Portugal against Slovakia at Dragao Stadium, Porto city in the Euro 2024 qualifiers on the evening of October 13, 2023. Photo: Ojogo

Ronaldo was named the best player of the match by UEFA, with support from attacking stars such as Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Rafael Leao and Goncalo Ramos. In the 28th minute, Leao crossed the ball from the left and hit the hand of a Slovakian defender in the penalty area, helping the home team to get a penalty. Ronaldo shot low to the right corner, fooling goalkeeper Martin Dubravka to make it 2-0, then jumped and spun to celebrate the goal. Outside the field, coach Roberto Martinez seemed happier when Ramos headed the opening goal 10 minutes earlier.

Ronaldo's second goal was just as important, scored just three minutes after the visitors had reduced the deficit to 1-2. This time Joao Cancelo overlapped Fernandes on the right, allowing the Man Utd midfielder to pass low to the second post for the captain to tap into the empty net from close range. In the stands, his mother and son applauded, as Ronaldo danced and spun on the pitch.

Ronaldo has scored 38 goals in 42 games this year, not to mention eight assists for his teammates. He also took his career tally to 857 goals in 1,187 games. Minutes after this moment, a male spectator ran onto the pitch and spun around, landing right in front of Ronaldo, before being escorted off by security.

Ronaldo with a shot from outside the penalty area. Photo: Reuters

In addition to his brace, Ronaldo missed a chance to rebound in the first half, when he seemed startled by a push from the Slovakian goalkeeper. Later in the half, striker Al Nassr also leaned forward to hook the ball but it went just over the bar. He also nearly contributed to a goal with a diagonal shot that Ramos rushed in to shoot and bounced off the post.

According to Sofascore statistics, Ronaldo was only the second best player in the match, after Fernandes. The Man Utd captain created two goals in this match, for Ramos and Ronaldo. If he had been more careful with special chances in the second half, Portugal would not have had to struggle to defend the three points until the end.

But the win was enough to send Portugal into Euro 2024 in Germany with three games to spare. They won all seven of their qualifying matches, earning 21 points, 10 more than third-placed Luxembourg in Group J. Ronaldo has scored seven goals in just six qualifiers, and he has the chance to improve on that tally when he next plays hosts Bosnia & Herzegovina on 16 October.

Hoang An

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