15.11.2011 » Portugal 6-2 Bosnia. EURO 2012, here we go!

Portugal crashed Bosnia-Herzegovina last night after a stunning win by 6-2, in a match held in Lisbon. With this result, the Portuguese made sure they won't be missing EURO 2012 next Summer and Cristiano Ronaldo put on a terrific performance, scoring 2 goals which helped the "Lusitanos" beating Bosnia.

Would EURO 2012 be the same without Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal showing up? Probably not and the Portuguese National Team started the match determined in proving their value and desire to be in Poland and Ukraine's competition, to start next June. The Portuguese captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, showed up when the team most needed and once more he silenced the critics by scoring 2 goals and leading his teammates to a glorious victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina. With tonight's brace, Ronaldo has now reached Luís Figo at the 3rd place, at the Portuguese National Team top goalscorers table, with 32 goals scored for his home-country.

Watch Cristiano Ronaldo game photos in Portugal vs Bosnia
Watch Portugal 6-2 Bosnia video highlights, including Cristiano Ronaldo goals:

After drawing in Bosnia last Friday, Portugal knew they would have to assume the control of the game and seek goals right from the start. Paulo Bento chose the same starting eleven that he had picked in Zenica and Cristiano Ronaldo lighted the way near the 8th minute, by scoring the opener from a stunning free-kick. Without fans chanting for Messi and no lasers being pointed at CR7's face, the Bosnians didn't seem to have any efficient weapon to stop Ronaldo. Portugal kept dominating the game and the second goal of the night would take place from Nani's feet, in a tremendous strike almost 25 meters away from the goal line. However, Bosnia-Herzegovina managed to get back in the game, after earning a penalty kick near the break, from a unnecessary handball given by Fábio Coentrão, and Misimovic seized the opportunity to reduce the score to 2-1.

The half-time arrived and the crowd was impressed and thrilled with Portugal's performance on the first 45 minutes. The Portuguese team didn't slow down and kept seeking more goals on the 2nd half and it didn't take too long for Cristiano Ronaldo to restore the 2 goals lead for his team, close to the 53th minute. With this goal, Ronaldo reached the 32th mark for his home-country and equalized an already retired Luís Figo, in the Portuguese National Team table regarding the top goalscorers of all-time. But Bosnia still had a word left in this game and even though they were only playing with 10 men (after Lulic got sent off), they reduced the score to 3-2 and somehow still revived their hopes for a short while.

Portugal all-time top goalscorers table:

Ranking	Name	Games	Goals
1	Pauleta	88	47
2	Eusébio	64	41
3	Cristiano Ronaldo	87	32
4	Luís Figo	127	32
5	Nuno Gomes	79	29
6	Rui Costa	94	26
7	João Pinto	81	23
8	Nené	66	22
9	Simão	85	22
10	Hélder Postiga	46	19

Those who were watching the game certainly felt that it was only a matter of time until the Portuguese team applied a final blow in Bosnia's small hopes of getting the equalizer. Around the 72th minute, Hélder Postiga scored the 4-2 with a great left-foot strike and calmed down millions of Portuguese fans who were still nervous about the outcome of this match. Bosnia finally gave up, but Portugal didn't settle with the 2 goals advantage and kept pushing for more goals, to present the crowd with a memorable night. Miguel Veloso would also score from a free-kick, close to the 80th minute and just a few minutes later, Hélder Postiga set the final score with a perfect header, putting the scoreline in 6-2.

With this victory, not only Portugal assured their presence in EURO 2012 this Summer, which will be held in Poland and Ukraine, but the team has also finished their qualification campaign in style. At the end of the game, the entire squad said goodbye to the crowd present in "Estádio da Luz" chanting the Portuguese hymn in a very emotional moment. It's finally safe to say: Euro 2012, here we go!

Portugal line-up vs Bosnia-Herzegovina:

Goalkeeper: Rui Patrício
Defenders: Fábio Coentrão, Pepe, Bruno Alves, João Pereira
Midfielders: Miguel Veloso, João Moutinho, Raúl Meireles
Attackers: Nani, Cristiano Ronaldo and Hélder Postiga.

Match stats provided by www.ronaldo7.net
Portugal	vs	Bosnia
6	Goals	2
3	Assists	1
16	Shots	3
9	Shots on goal	3
10	Corner kicks	0
15	Fouls commited	24
3	Yellow cards	7
0	Red cards	1

After confirming Portugal's presence in EURO 2012 with a 6-2 win over Bosnia, Cristiano Ronaldo is now back to Madrid. Real Madrid next match is against Valencia, for La Liga, in the 19th of November 2011. You can watch Juventus live stream, Valencia vs Real Madrid in our football live streams section this Saturday.

Sources: ronaldo7.net / record.pt / uefa.com

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