As Thomas Tuchel’s uninspired England continued to win on Saturday, Cristiano Ronaldo helped an emotional Portugal to a perfect start to their World Cup qualifying campaign.
Portugal made an impressive first appearance in the finals of next year, defeating Armenia 5-0 in Yerevan, marking their first victory since Diogo Jota’s passing to Liverpool and his brother Andre Silva in a car accident.
In honor of Jota and his brother, who died in a crash in northern Spain on July 3, 11 days after Jota had married Rute Cardoso, the mother of his three children, both teams observed one minute of silence before kickoff at the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium.
Portugal’s unstoppable 40-year-old talisman scored in either half, the second a sizzling shot from a distance, to increase his world record for goals to 140 more than 20 years after his first, which is five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
Roberto Martinez’s Nations League winners moved into Group F with the help of a brace from Joao Felix, Ronaldo’s new teammate at Saudi side Al Nassr, and another contribution from Joao Cancelo, another Saudi-based player.
Portugal’s No. 21
Cancelo marked his goal by pointing his both hands to the sky in honor of Jota’s goal celebration.
Ronaldo scored in the 21st minute for Lazio, according to Lazio left-back Nuno Tavares, who regarded the 21 shirt number as significant when Jota wore it while representing his country.
“We’re all very happy because it shows that he’s (Jota) with us, that Ronaldo’s goal was made possible at that time,” he said. He’ll always be there for us, as it was today’s statement.
Ronaldo claimed it was the “first step taken” in his quest to win a sixth World Cup on social media.
In the late-game matchup of the pool, the Republic of Ireland takes on Hungary.
READ MORE: Joao Felix, Portugal’s Joao Felix, Attends Al Nassr In Saudi Arabia
England extended their unbeaten run to four games in Group K with a 2-0 victory over Andorra at Villa Park in Birmingham.
Declan Rice’s header completed Christian Garcia’s first-half own-goal, keeping Tuchel’s team firmly in the frame for the 2026 football festival in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
The Three Lions will be more than happy with their 12 points, but it was in reality yet another subpar performance that raised doubts about Tuchel’s ability to produce a talented generation with a trophy-winning team.
In the final third, England were effective but unspectacular and lacking in intelligence and guile.
Tuchel must have been frustrated by Tuchel’s expression on the touchline.
The German claimed that the subdued crowd had a part in the spectacle and that it was challenging because the crowd was “very different from a Premier League crowd.”
We had too many ball losses in the first half and lost our focus and concentration after the second goal, but we found it again in the second half and should have scored more.
When England take on Serbia, the former Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss, the former Chelsea boss wants a more purposeful performance on Tuesday in his toughest match of the year.
We’ve learned a lot, and I’m happy for the players, they said. We will now demonstrate our case in Belgrade, Tuchel said.
After defeating Latvia 1-0 in Riga, the Serbs are now tied for second place with seven points.
The action on Saturday comes to a close with Austria hosting Group H hosts Bosnia-Herzegovina and Cyprus in San Marino.
16 European nations will make it to the World Cup overall.
The 12 group winners automatically advance to the finals of the expanded 48-team competition, while the four remaining spots are determined by playoffs involving the 12 group runners-up.
Source: Channels TV
Leave a Reply