Ronaldo on target again
Cristiano Ronaldo will have to wait a little longer for his 100th international goal, scoring only once as defending champions Portugal secured their place at next year’s European Championship with a 2-0 win at Luxembourg yesterday.
The goal moved Ronaldo 10 goals behind former Iran striker Ali Daei, who with 109 goals is the only player in world football to have outscored him on the international stage.
Portugal qualified automatically along with Group B winners Ukraine, who were already through and twice rallied to draw 2-2 at Serbia.
Serbia needed to win and hope Portugal failed to beat Luxembourg, but must now instead go through the playoffs to try to reach Euro 2020.
There was a century elsewhere, as France coach Didier Deschamps celebrated his 100th game in charge with a 2-0 win at Albania. It ensured France finished top of Group H ahead of Turkey, who won 2-0 at Andorra.
Group A winners England had already sealed their place and took their whopping goal tally to 37 in eight games with a 4-0 win at Kosovo thanks to a late flurry of goals after Harry Winks’ first-half opener.
The prolific Harry Kane got England’s second goal on the night to move atop the Euro 2020 qualifying scoring charts with 12 goals, one more than both Ronaldo and Israel’s Eran Zahavi. England’s other goals were scored by Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford and Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount.
In the other Group A game, Bulgaria beat Czech Republic 1-0 in Sofia.