31.08.2017 » Portugal 5-1 Faroe Islands. Ronaldo puts on a show
Portugal won their 6th straight game in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers and their last victim was Faroe Islands this Thursday night. The European champions ran over a very fragile side in a 5-1 win and the man of the match was none other than Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese and Real Madrid superstar scored an hat-trick and reached his 78th at a national level, surpassing Pelé's 77-goal record for Brazil. The remaining 2 goals in this game were scored by William Carvalho and Nélson Oliveira. The next qualifier is now on Sunday, an away fixture against Hungary.
Cristiano Ronaldo game photos in Portugal vs Faroe Islands
Portugal 5-1 Faroe Islands - Goals and highlights:
All Cristiano Ronaldo actions vs Faroe Islands:
No one seriously expected for a different outcome than the one we've seen last night in Porto and at the end of the day, it was all a matter of knowing how many goals Portugal would score. Nevertheless, Fernando Santos didn't take any risks and fielded his strongest possible eleven even knowing he has a far more difficult match next Sunday in Hungary.
And things couldn't have started better for Portugal and Ronaldo himself. Still serving a 5-game ban in Spain, the Real Madrid forward broke the deadlock right in the 3rd minute of the first half in an acrobatic gesture resembling an half volley and a overhead kick. Like Ronaldo admitted in his post-match interview, it's been a type of goal he has been trying to score for some time now...
With the early lead, Faroe Islands' strategy was ruined straight away and Portugal made the game easy for themselves. Near the first half an hour, João Mário got tripped inside the box and the referee didn't hesitate pointing to the spot. Cristiano Ronaldo took the penalty and made it 2-0 for reigning the European champions. With that goal, the Portuguese had tied Pelé with 77 goals at a national level. But CR7 wasn't over for the night just yet...
Against all odds, Faroe Islands somehow managed to shorten distances and bring the lead to a single goal difference again. It all started in a throw-in, a small deflection on José Fonte's head and bang! Rogvi Baldvinsson smashed it into the back of the net in a first touch strike. Sporting's goalkeeper Rui Patrício couldn't have done much more to stop such a powerful shot from such a short distance.
Halftime would arrive just a few minutes later and with the game's discussion still opened, the Portuguese side decide not to slow down things in the remaining 45 minutes. The 3-1 was the result of a good cross from Ronaldo and an even better finish from William Carvalho. The 25-year old midfielder headed the ball into the far post and scored his 2nd goal in the current WC qualifiers campaign.
From then on, it was all a formality... Cristiano Ronaldo would complete his hat-trick in 64th minute, reaching his 78th goal for Portugal and reaching the 5th place in the all-time topscorers at international level (the first is still Ali Daei, from Iran, with 109 goals). Finally, the last goal of the night was scored by Nélson Oliveira, following a cross by Ronaldo and a bad clearance from a Faroe Islands' defender. 3 points and the next in line is now Hungary!
Portugal line-up vs Faroe Islands:
Goalkeeper: Rui Patrício
Defenders: Eliseu, Fonte, Pepe, Cédric Soares
Midfielders: William Carvalho, João Moutinho, João Mário, Bernardo Silva
Attackers: André Silva, Cristiano Ronaldo.
| Match stats provided by www.ronaldo7.net
|
||
|---|---|---|
Portugal
|
vs
|
Faroe Islands
|
5 |
Goals |
1 |
25 |
Shots |
6 |
11 |
Shots on goal |
4 |
5 |
Corner kicks |
1 |
6 |
Fouls commited |
8 |
1 |
Yellow cards |
0 |
0 |
Red cards |
0 |
76% |
Ball possession |
24% |
Cristiano Ronaldo next game is for Portugal on September 3 of 2017 against Hungary. You can watch Juventus live stream, Hungary vs Portugal, Spain vs Italy, Malta vs England, Lithuania vs Scotland, and Czech Republic vs Germany, all matches provided from our sports streaming game pages.
Portugal next game:
Hungary vs Portugal kick-off time (03-09-2017):
Beijing (China) | UTC/GMT+8: 02:45
Jakarta (Indonesia) | UTC/GMT+7: 01:45
India (New Delhi) | UTC/GMT+5.30: 00:15
Spain (Madrid) | UTC/GMT+2: 20:45
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | UTC/GMT+1: 19:45
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | UTC/GMT-3: 15:45
New York (United States) | UTC/GMT-4: 14:45
Los Angeles (United States) | UTC/GMT-7: 11:45
Sources: ronaldo7.net / eurosport.com / fifa.com / foxsports.com
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