Cristiano Ronaldo scored his second successive brace for Portugal in the Euro 2024 Qualifiers Group J on Sunday.
Cristiano Ronaldo added two more goals to his impressive record for Portugal, contributing to their 6-0 victory and securing their second win in just four days.
This followed his earlier double against Liechtenstein on Thursday. With his latest goals, the 38-year-old superstar has now scored a record-breaking 122 goals in 198 appearances for his country.
Despite being 38 years old, Ronaldo has continued to demonstrate impressive performance throughout the year 2023.
Portugal secured a comprehensive 6-0 victory against Luxembourg, building on their earlier 4-0 win over Liechtenstein.
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Joao Felix, Bernando Silva, Otavio and Rafael Leao added the other goals to put Portugal top of Group J after an easy start to their qualifying campaign.
New coach Roberto Martinez restored Ronaldo to the starting line-up last week and kept faith with him for the match in Luxembourg, where it took only nine minutes for the veteran superstar to open the scoring as he touched home Nuno Mendes’s soaring header.
Joao Felix doubled the lead in the 15th minute, rising high to get onto the end of Silva’s cross. Silva then himself headed home a powerful effort three minutes later after being set up by Joao Palhinha.
Bruno Fernandes set up Ronaldo for the fourth, just past the half hour mark, with a ball over the defence that was finished with pin-point accuracy.
Luxembourg looked bedraggled in the first half but offered more resistance after the break before Rafael Leao’s looping cross allowed fellow substitute Otavio to head home Portugal’s fifth.
Goal number 122 for Cristiano Ronaldo 🇵🇹
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) March 26, 2023
He's got a brace, Portugal are 4-0 up against Luxembourg!#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/t9g3DPfW8t
It ends 6-0 to Portugal as Rafael Leão rounds off the night with a stunning solo goal after a brilliant ball from Ruben Neves 👏#EURO2024 pic.twitter.com/GIDGmuOYqG
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) March 26, 2023
Ruben Neves, yet to score for Portugal, struck the crossbar with a 83rd minute freekick before a penalty was awarded straight after when Luxembourg captain Laurent Jans tripped Rafael Leao.
The AC Milan forward got up off the turf to take the kick but his effort was saved by Luxembourg keeper Anthony Moris.
But Rafael Leao ran half the length of the field to latch onto Reuben Neves’ pass and cut inside before squeezing the ball home for a 6-0 scoreline with two minutes remaining.
122 goals for Ronaldo in international football
Playing his 198th match for Portugal, Ronaldo has raced to 122 goals. He is 23 goals clear of Lionel Messi, who has 99 for Argentina.
Ronaldo now has 102 competitive goals in men’s international football, with the other 20 coming in friendly matches.
At the UEFA European Championship qualifying, Ronaldo has now raced to 35 goals in 37 games.
Euro 2024 Qualifiers: Ronaldo is the 2nd-highest scorer
Denmark’s Rasmus Højlund is the top scorer at the Euro 2024 Qualifiers, having netted five goals so far. After scoring a hat-trick versus Finland, Rasmus netted a brace in Denmark’s 3-2 loss versus Kazakhstan. Meanwhile, Ronaldo follows suit with four goals.
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