Skipper Cristiano nets brace as Portugal thrash Bosnia and Herzegovina 5-0
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo scores from the penalty spot against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Monday. Pics/AFP
Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice as Roberto Martinez’s relentless Portugal thrashed Bosnia and Herzegovina 5-0 on Monday in Euro 2024 qualifying.
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Portugal, who booked their place at the tournament in Germany next summer with a win over Slovakia last Friday, continued their superb form under the Spanish coach with their eighth victory in eight games since he arrived.
Bruno scores third goal
Ronaldo netted his 126th and 127th Portugal goals, further extending his record as the top all-time men’s international goalscorer. Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes added the third before Barcelona duo Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix joined in the fun, all before half-time. Bosnia, led by veteran target-man Edin Dzeko, languish fifth and can no longer progress from the group, after Slovakia beat Luxembourg 1-0.
Bosnia have two games remaining and are seven points behind second-placed Slovakia in Group J, with Portugal the runaway leaders. Martinez’s side have scored 32 goals and only conceded twice, racking up all 24 points possible so far.
Al-Nassr striker Ronaldo, 38, opened the scoring from the penalty spot and dinked home his second with a neat finish, but was replaced by Martinez after 65 minutes, while still in search of his hat-trick.
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The former Real Madrid forward was also confronted by a pitch invader shortly before half-time, but stewards swiftly intervened.
Fernandes and Cancelo finished with sublime accuracy and power as the hosts’ defence crumbled miserably, while Felix stroked in the fifth. Bosnia tightened up in the second half but it was far too little, far too late.
Holland skipper Virgil van Dijk celebrates scoring v Greece
Van Dijk shines for Dutch
Meanwhile, Slovakia solidified their grip on second place with a 1-0 victory in Luxembourg. Gylfi Sigurdsson scored twice for Iceland as they stayed in contention with a 4-0 rout of Liechtenstein. Virgil van Dijk converted a stoppage-time penalty to earn the Netherlands a crucial 1-0 victory away to Greece in Group B. Wout Weghorst had a first-half spot-kick saved for the Dutch in Athens, but Liverpool defender Van Dijk made no mistake after a foul on Denzel Dumfries.
The Netherlands drew level on 12 points with Greece and have the head-to-head advantage after beating them home and away.
Ronald Koeman’s team also have a game in hand on their rivals as they bid to wrap up second behind group winners France.
Brighton’s rising 18-year-old star Evan Ferguson was among the scorers as the Republic of Ireland dispatched Gibraltar 4-0 in Portugal.
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