Ronaldo breaks men’s scoring record as Bosnia ‘hold’ France
Denmark stay perfect, Norway spoil Louis van Gaal’s return as Netherlands coach
FARO, Portugal, Sept 2, (AP): Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty but still broke the men’s international scoring record before adding a second goal as Portugal beat visiting Ireland 2-1 in World Cup qualifying. Portugal lead with 10 points from four games and sit three points ahead of Serbia, which did not play.
Luxembourg are one point behind Serbia in third after winning 2-1 against visiting Azerbaijan.
Ronaldo grabbed his 110th goal in the 89th minute to move ahead of former Iran striker Ali Daei.
Six minutes into stoppage time, Ronaldo made it 111 in 180 games to break Irish hearts after defender John Egan gave his nation the lead in the 45th.
“I’m very happy, not only because I beat the record but for the special moments that we had,” Ronaldo said. “Two goals at the end of the game is so tough, but I have to appreciate what the team did. We believed until the end.” But Ronaldo, who has returned to join Manchester United, is still 76 goals behind the game’s most prolific international scorer. Christine Sinclair, who is 38 years old, scored her 187th goal for Canada last month at the Tokyo Olympics.
Ronaldo’s night had been frustrating up until the late heroics.
His 15th-minute spot kick was well saved by goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu, who was just 2 years old when Ronaldo scored his first for Portugal as a skinny winger at the 2004 European Championship.
Ronaldo’s only title with Portugal came at Euro 2016.
Although he was the top scorer at this year’s European Championship with five goals in four games, his team’s title defense ended in the round of 16.
Bosnia and Herzegovina stunned 2018 World Cup winners France when veteran striker Eden Dzeko struck in the 36th minute with his 60th international goal.
Griezmann equalized three minutes later following a scramble after Kylian Mbappe’s corner.
A thrilling finish in Astana saw midfielder Ruslan Valiullin equalize in the sixth minute of stoppage time to earn Kazakhstan a 2-2 home draw with Ukraine.
Forward Danylo Sikan came off the bench to score in the third minute of injury time, yet it was not enough for victory.
Ukraine had a strong start as Roman Yaremchuk netted after two minutes with a great strike from outside the penalty area, but Valiullin equalized in the 74th and then did so again in the last seconds.
European Championship semifinalists Denmark sit proudly on top with four straight wins after beating Scotland 2-0, thanks to goals from veteran midfielder Daniel Wass and defender Joakim Maehle.
Israel and Austria both won, but it’s Israel in second place on goal difference thanks to striker Eran Zahavi’s hat trick in a 4-0 win away to Faroe Islands.
Marko Arnautovic scored in Austria’s 2-0 win away to Moldova.
Erling Haaland spoiled Louis van Gaal’s return as Netherlands coach , scoring the opening goal as Norway held the Dutch to a 1-1 draw in World Cup qualification Group G.
Haaland’s 20th-minute strike was canceled out by Netherlands midfielder Davy Klaassen in front of 7,000 fans at Oslo’s Ullevaal Stadium. Substitute Denzel Dumfries came close to snatching a winner for the Netherlands with the last attempt of the match.
The qualifier was the first for the Netherlands since Van Gaal took over for his third stint as coach and marked the return of captain Virgil van Dijk, who was sidelined for months with a serious knee injury.
In Istanbul, Risto Radunovic scored an equalizer deep in second-half stoppage time as Montenegro recovered
from a 2-0 deficit to draw 2-2 with Group G leaders Turkey.
Cengiz Under and Yusuf Yazıci put Turkey ahead before Adam Marusic and Radunovic salvaged a point for Montenegro.
Turkey remained on top of Group G after four matches, while the draw in Oslo left the Netherlands one point adrift in second, ahead of Montenegro and Norway on goal difference. Latvia beat Gibraltar 3-1 in the group’s other match.
Van Gaal restored the team to the formation of four defenders, three midfielders and three forwards favored by his players. But the attacking setup left the Dutch vulnerable to Norway’s fast breaks and the Netherlands forwards could not break down the stubborn Norwegian defense.
Haaland forced a good save from Dutch debutant goalkeeper Justin Bijlow in the 15th minute and five minutes later the 21-year-old controlled a high ball, held off a Van Dijk challenge and poked the ball past Bijlow to give Norway the lead. It was the Borussia Dortmund striker’s eighth goal in just his 13th international match.
The Netherlands pushed forward throughout the first half and were rewarded in the 36th minute when Klaassen bundled the ball into the net after a low cross by Georginio Wijnaldum.
Haaland came close to restoring the Norway lead in the 66th minute when he again beat the Dutch defense to run
a through ball by Martin Odegaard but hit the post with a curling left-foot shot.
Substitute Donyell Malen also came close for the Netherlands in a disappointing second half, cleverly making room for himself on the edge of the penalty area before shooting just wide.
Croatia kept first place on goal difference with seven points after drawing 0-0 away to second-place Russia in Moscow.
Slovakia are one point behind in third following a 1-1 draw at Slovenia. Malta beat last-place Cyprus 3-0. a handball by Yuto Nagatomo, consulted VAR.
Japan have made six consecutive World Cup appearances, but Oman have never qualified. The Japanese enjoyed the majority of possession but struggled to create clear chances against their well-organized opponents.
“It was a disappointing defeat,” Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu said. “Now the focus is to bounce back to take three points in the next game.”
That comes against China on Tuesonto
day.
In Group A, South Korea were also frustrated after being held by Iraq to a 0-0 draw in an empty Seoul World Cup Stadium.
The hosts, aiming for a 10th successive appearance at the World Cup, were in charge for much of the game against the hard-working visitors but could not break the deadlock.
Lee Jae-sung came closest, blasting over in the first half from close range after a goal-line clearance from Iraq, looking to add to their sole World Cup appearance in 1986.
Hwang Hee-chan, who recently signed with English Premier League team Wolverhampton, headed straight at the goalkeeper from a good position after the break.
The top two from both six-team groups qualify automatically for next year’s World Cup. The third-placed teams meet in a playoff and the winners then face an opponents from another confederation.