Portugal skipper Cristiano Ronaldo netted twice on an emotional night as Portugal beat Armenia 5-0. This, which was Portugal’s first outing since the demise of forward Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva in July, was filled with emotions and drama as Critiano Ronaldo and Joao Felix both got braces while Joao Cancelo increased their goal tally to five.
Ronaldo’s record as the highest scorer in men’s international football rose to 140. The 40-year-old footballer who recently signed a new contract with Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr has never won the World Cup and is motivated to do so before his illustrious career comes to an end.
The World Cup next year will likely be Ronaldo’s last chance to win the title as the 40 year old is rumored to be set to retire.
Their Group F campaign had a great kick off as they cruised to victory in their opening game against Armenia. The game started with a minute of silence in honour of Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva. 10 minutes into the game, Joao Felix opened the scoring with a header from a Joao Cancelo cross. Eleven minutes later, Portugal skipper, Cristiano Ronaldo diverted an in-swing delivery from Pedro Neto to double his side’s lead. Cancelo grabbed a third goal for Portugal with a powerful shot from the center of the penalty area in the 32nd minute.
45 seconds into the second half, Ronaldo picked up his second of the night with a sweet half-volley from 25 yards past goalkeeper Henri Avagyan. After several attempts at a hat-trick, Ronaldo was substituted for Gonçalo Ramos in the 58th minute. 3 minutes later, Joao Felix sealed the victory with an audacious scorpion flick intothe back of the net. The visitors kept possession throughout the game completing a total of 634 passes on the night with a passing accuracy of 93%.
Portugal has met the Asian side, Armenia six times in history and has won 4 of those fixtures with only two draws between them. They are currently sitting at the top of Group F with 2 points cushion between them and second placed Hungary after the first round of their group’s World Cup Qualifiers group stage encounter.
Watch full highlights: https://youtu.be/mT7K6eQbW8A?si=MBfh0VhybcYXIDvs
