GOAL: Ronaldo scores the penalty Bosnia & Herzegovina 0-1 Portugal
Cristiano Ronaldo notched a pair of goals as Portugal, under Roberto Martinez’s leadership, delivered a commanding 5-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Euro 2024 qualifying match held on Monday.
Portugal had already secured their place in the upcoming tournament in Germany next summer by defeating Slovakia the previous Friday, and their remarkable form continued with their eighth consecutive win since Martinez took charge.
Ronaldo, the all-time leading men’s international goalscorer, added to his illustrious tally with his 126th and 127th goals for Portugal. Bruno Fernandes from Manchester United contributed the third goal, and the Barcelona pair of Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix also got in on the action, all before the halftime whistle.
Bosnia, led by the veteran striker Edin Dzeko, found themselves in fifth place and unable to advance from the group after Slovakia triumphed over Luxembourg with a 1-0 victory.
Bosnia now has two remaining matches and lags seven points behind the second-placed Slovakia in Group J, with Portugal comfortably leading the pack.
Under Martinez’s guidance, Portugal has scored an impressive 32 goals and conceded only twice, accumulating a perfect 24 points so far.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who plays for Al-Nassr, initiated the scoring with a penalty and added his second goal with a skillful finish, but he was substituted by Martinez after 65 minutes, still in pursuit of a hat-trick.
During the first half, Ronaldo also had an encounter with a pitch invader, swiftly handled by stewards. Meanwhile, Fernandes and Cancelo displayed exceptional accuracy and power in their strikes, as the home team’s defense struggled.
In the second half, Bosnia managed to tighten their defense, but it was a case of too little, too late.
