Ronaldo pushes Portugal past Hungary
Netherlands suffers stunning World Cup qualifying setback in loss to lowly Bulgaria
While Cristiano Ronaldo kept moving up Europe’s all-time scorers list on Saturday, a demoralizing loss to Bulgaria endangered the Netherlands’ World Cup qualification.
With two goals in Portugal’s 3-0 win over Hungary, Ronaldo moved into fourth place on the all-time scorers list for European nations.
Ronaldo’s 70 goals in 137 appearances trail only Miroslav Klose (71), Sandor Kocsis (75) and Ferenc Puskas (84).
Here is a look at World Cup qualifiers in Europe:
GROUP A
Teenager Matthijs de Ligt’s dream debut for the Netherlands quickly turned into a nightmare as he handed Bulgaria an early goal.
Just five minutes into the match, De Ligt let a speculative ball fall over his shoulder before he collided with goalkeeper Jeroen Zoet, allowing Spas Delev to tap in.
Delev made it 2-0 in the 20th minute when he curled a shot past De Ligt’s attempted block and into the bottom corner of Zoet’s goal.
Injuries had forced coach Danny Blind to make the risky choice of De Ligt who, at 17, became the youngest Netherlands debutant since Mauk Weber in 1931.
After the stunning loss, the manager took the blame.
“I blame myself,” Blind told national broadcaster NOS, adding that, “It can’t go on like this. Things have to change.”
The Netherlands, which failed to qualify for the European Championship last year, looks likely to struggle to reach the World Cup in Russia.
France stayed on top of the group with 13 points after beating Luxembourg 3-1 thanks to Olivier Giroud’s double and a penalty by Antoine Griezmann.
Sweden is second with 10 points after thrashing Belarus 4-0. The Netherlands slid to fourth with seven points, behind Bulgaria with nine.
GROUP B
Ronaldo looks to have found his ideal partner up front in Andre Silva.
The 21-year-old striker scored Portugal’s opener in the 32nd minute before quickly getting Ronaldo on track.
Ronaldo struck both goals from outside the area, first slashing home a left-footer off Silva’s pass, followed by a right-footed free kick from an angle to seal the win in Lisbon.
“We started off slowly, but the first goal gave our confidence a boost and the other goals came naturally,” Ronaldo told Portuguese television.
Portugal strengthened its hold on second place with 12 points, opening a gap over Hungary, which stayed with seven points in third.
Switzerland earned a fifth win in as many matches after beating Latvia 1-0 to remain on top of the group with 15 points.
Still stuck at the foot of the table, Andorra nevertheless savoured the end to a losing streak that had lasted 58 competitive matches stretching over 11 years after drawing with Faroe Islands 0-0.
GROUP H
Romelu Lukaku saved Belgium’s place at the top of Group H, snatching a 1-1 draw in Brussels after being frustrated all night by an unyielding Greece defence. Lukaku fired past goalkeeper Stefano Kapino with only two minutes of regular time remaining.
Greece finished the game with nine men, but surprised the favourites just 20 seconds into the second half when Costas Mitroglou caught defenders off guard and scored.