Portugal corrected Liechtenstein (4-0) and Cristiano Ronaldo, who set a new world record for selections for the national team in the 197th match played, scored a brace to mark the event on Thursday in Lisbon in the Euro 2024 qualifiers.
“CR7”, returned to the ported selection after receiving a copy of the 2022 World Cup trophy, will pass the Kuwaiti Bader Al-Mutawa (196) to enable him to share the record with his friends and his family's larger family members. tenses.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner already holds the world record for selection goals since September 2021, surpassing, thanks to a brace against Ireland, Iranian Ali Daei and his 109 goals. Therefore, it combines two of the most important records in the men's national football team.
– Delirious supporters –
In a one-sided confrontation, Joao Cancelo quickly scored the first goal in the era of Roberto Martinez (1-0, eighth), the new Portugal coach after eight years under Fernando Santos.
His Manchester City teammate, Bernardo Silva, did not lead until the start of the second half (2-0, minute 47). Then Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brace from a penalty kick (3-0, minute 51) and then scored a free kick (4-0, minute 63) in front of astonished fans who chanted his name on several occasions.
Facing the 198th country in the world, the Portuguese presented themselves with the new 3-4-3 system that was invented by the Spanish coach and rarely used during Santos' tenure.
After a corner kick, Joao Cancelo tried his luck from afar, as Cristiano Ronaldo blocked the ball before deceiving Liechtenstein goalkeeper Benjamin Büchel (1-0).
The Portuguese then showed that they were as clumsy as Ronaldo, who sent a header over the crossbar (22nd), then Bushell blocked his shot (27th), before another header passed a few centimeters from the opponent’s cages (35th minute).
– Strong free kick –
However, the 2016 European champion regained his quality after returning from the dressing room. After a ball that was mistakenly cleared by the Liechtenstein defense, Bernardo Silva doubled the score with a calm shot in the open area (2-0).
A few minutes later, Cancelo won a penalty kick, which Cristiano Ronaldo converted with a perfect shot (3-0). The five-time Ballon d'Or winner, in the middle of the entire field, then scored a brilliant free kick from the edge of the penalty area with a powerful shot into the top corner (4-0).
His work completed, CR7 was replaced by Benfica striker, Gonzalo Ramos, to the applause and cheers of the crowd gathered at the sold-out Jose Alvalade stadium.
Thanks to this victory, Portugal rose to the top of Group 10 in the Euro 2024 qualifiers with three points, tied with Bosnia and Herzegovina, which at the same time beat Iceland (3-0).
The Seleção will continue its qualifying campaign on Sunday with a trip to Luxembourg.
