Portugal’s Ronaldo passes Pele with hat trick in win
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat trick to move past Pele on the list of all-time international goal scorers as host Portugal beat the Faeroe Islands 5-1 on Thursday in Porto as World Cup qualifying resumed with a busy weekend worldwide.
Portugal stayed three points behind Switzerland at the top of Group B in European qualifying. Switzerland stayed perfect by defeating Andorra 3-0 under heavy rain in St. Gallen. The group winner qualifies for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and the runner-up has to go through a playoff.
Ronaldo netted with a neat volley from inside the area, then added two goals to surpass the Brazil great and move into second place on the list of Europe’s all-time scorers with 78 goals. He’s six behind Hungary great Ferenc Puskas. Pele scored 77 goals for Brazil.
Elsewhere in Europe, France regained control of its destiny with a 4-0 win against the visiting Netherlands in Group A, damaging Dutch hopes of qualification and moving Les Bleus three points clear of Sweden, which lost 3-2 at Bulgaria.
In Group H, Thomas Meunier had three goals and three assists and Romelu Lukaku added three goals as Belgium swamped Gibralter 9-0 in Brussels.
Also, Estonia held Greece to a 0-0 draw. Belgium increased its lead to six points over secondplaced Greece.
Japan qualifies: In Asian qualifying, Japan will be playing at next year’s World Cup, and Syria has a chance to qualify for the first time.
Host Japan qualified for its sixth straight World Cup by beating Asian champion Australia 2-0.
War-torn Syria’s national team eliminated Qatar 3-1 in Malaysia, moving into third place in Group A. The Syrians are one victory away from at least a playoff, with an automatic spot still possible.
South Korea missed the chance to qualify for a ninth straight World Cup after being held to a 0-0 draw by Iran, which has already qualified.
South America: Argentina and host Uruguay drew 0-0, a result that did little for either team in the scramble to reach the World Cup. Brazil, which defeated visiting Ecuador 2-0, has already qualified, but the three other automatic berths from the continent are wide open. A fifth team from the region can also advance in a playoff.
Colombia struggled without injured forward James Rodriguez and suspended defender Yerry Mina and had to settle for a 0-0 draw at Venezuela. Paraguay defeated host Chile 3-0.
U.S. resumes: The United States resumes World Cup qualifying Friday night against Costa Rica in Harrison, N.J., and there is a scenario that allows the U.S. to clinch its eighth straight World Cup berth Tuesday at Honduras. But it is more likely that the Americans will need points from their last two matches, at home versus Panama on Oct. 6 and at Trinidad four days later.
Mexico leads CONCACAF qualifying with 14 points, followed by Costa Rica (11), the U.S. (eight), Panama (seven), Honduras (five) and Trinidad (three); the top three earn World Cup berths, and the fourth-place team meets Asia’s No. 5 in a playoff.