scored his 128th goal in an international match, giving victory to his home country, Portugal.
Portugal won 2-0 in the 9th round match of Group J of the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers against Liechtenstein held at the Rheinpark Stadion in Vaduz, Liechtenstein on the 17th (Korean time).
Portugal, which is aiming to advance to the Euro 2024 finals to be held in Germany next June, was placed in Group J along with Slovakia 카지노사이트
Luxembourg, Iceland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Liechtenstein in the preliminary group stage.
Portugal, who had already confirmed their advancement to the finals by taking the lead in Group J with eight wins in all matches prior to the game
continued their group-stage winning streak thanks to goals scored by Ronaldo and Joao Cancelo (Barcelona).
In the expedition to Liechtenstein, Portugal used a 3-4-2-1 formation. Jose Sa guarded the goal, while Totti Gomes
Ruben Neves and Antonio Silva made up the back three.
Diogo Jota and Joao Cancelo were placed at left and right wingbacks, and Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva worked together in midfield.
Joao Feliz and Cristiano Ronaldo were in charge of the second line
and Gonzalo Hamus was named as the top player in the front line.
On this day, Ronaldo showed off his light movements from the first half and threatened the Liechtenstein goal.
He attempted to shoot as many as five times during the first half.
He attempted to score a wonder goal by connecting a cross into the penalty box with a bicycle kick in extra time
but the shot went outside the goal line and was canceled.
Portugal finished the first half 0-0, but took the lead at the start of the second half with Ronaldo’s first goal.
In the second minute of the second half, Ronaldo succeeded in penetrating after receiving a pass from Diogo Jota (Liverpool) and scored the first goal with a thunderous left-footed shot in front of the goalkeeper that shook the net.
Ronaldo, who succeeded in scoring, celebrated the opening goal with a unique ceremony known to domestic soccer fans as the ‘Heavy Rain Ceremony’.
Portugal took the lead with Ronaldo’s first goal
but Cancelo scored an additional goal in the 12th minute of the second half to secure the win.
Center back Antonio Silva (Benfica)’s long pass from the back reached the box, and Cancelo succeeded in taking the ball before the Liechtenstein goalkeeper, who had left the goal.
Cancelo caught the ball, passed the goalkeeper and defenders
and then fired an accurate left-footed shot toward the empty goal, making the score 2-0.
In the 41st minute of the second half, Gonzalo Hamus (PSG) appeared to score a key goal from a set piece
but Portugal’s third goal was canceled as the video review (VAR) decision was offside.
Afterwards, Portugal was unable to score any more goals and defeated Liechtenstein 2-0.
They successfully won all 9 matches in the group stage and firmly maintained their place at the top of Group J.
Meanwhile, ‘record maker’ Ronaldo scored the first goal on this day, increasing his record of most goals in an A match to 128. Additionally
his record for most appearances in A matches increased by one game to 204. The gap between the 2nd most scored player
Ali Daei (Iran), with 109 goals, and the 2nd most played player, Bader Al-Muwata (Kuwait), with 196 games, has widened further.
Ronaldo, who was born in 1985 and is 38 years old, is still active as Portugal’s starting striker
showing off his age through excellent self-management. In 2023 alone, Ronaldo has appeared in 8 A matches, scoring 10 goals and 1 assist.
All 10 goals were scored in the Euro 2024 qualifiers, so he is currently tied for first place in scoring along with Belgium’s 190cm tall striker Romelu Lukaku (AS Roma).
Although he is from Saudi Arabia, Ronaldo is at the peak of his scoring ability by scoring 16 goals and 9 assists in 17 games for Al Nasr this season.
As he continues to score goals for his national team, he is likely to participate in the Euros at the age of 39.
Attention is focused on whether Ronaldo, who has already won the tournament held in France in 2016
will be able to achieve his final result while maintaining his physical condition until the opening of Euro 2024
which is likely to be the last Euro tournament of his career.