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Cristiano Ronaldo may be regretting a little! If he hadn't been banned after seeing a yellow card that day, he would have signed up for the yellow card today. Ronaldo's record against Luxembourg is also quite impressive. He scored 11 goals in 11 matches against this team. He also scored a pair of goals in the last match. But 'CR Seven' could not play due to yellow card ban in two consecutive matches.
However, despite the absence of Ronaldo, Portugal did not have to get much momentum to blow away Luxembourg. Gonzalo Ramos-Diego Jotara each touched the ball 9 times. Ramos, Jota and Inacio scored 2 goals each. And Ricardo Horta, Bruno Fernandez and Joao Felix scored 1 goal each. Fernandez, however, scored a hat-trick of assists that day.
Luxemburg, who was repeatedly defeated against Ronaldo, may have come down with a little relief today. Who knows, thought Portugal without Ronaldo might not be as sharp. But it took 17 minutes for Portugal to prove that idea wrong. Meanwhile, Inacio and Ramos scored goals for Portugal.
First, Inacio hit the target with a header, then Ramos increased the gap with a perfect finish. Ramos then scored his second and third goals in 33 minutes. This goal, assisted by Rafael Liao, was also a great finish. The added time goal just before the break was a repeat of the first goal. Fernandez's cross made Portugal 4-0 with Inacio's head.
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It took 57 minutes for Portugal to lead 5-0 after the break. Jota got the ball through the attack in a great team display. Horta scored after 10 minutes. The Club Bruga star made it 6-0 with a one-touch finish from Jota's pass. Jota scored his second and the team's seventh goal in the 77th minute. Then Fernandez also added 3 assists to the scoresheet. That was Portugal's 8th goal. The Portuguese could not be satisfied even with this. Felix's eye-catching goal in the 88th minute led them to 9-0.
With this victory, Portugal remained unbeaten in the Euro 2024 qualifiers. Not only that, so far Portugal has put the ball in the opponent's net 24 times. On the contrary, not a single goal was digested. Now with the next match, Portugal can confirm the ticket to the Euro held in Germany. Portugal need to win against Slovakia to secure a ticket to the Euros with three matches in hand and pray that Luxembourg do not win against Iceland. But there is nothing to worry if this equation does not match. The way Portugal is going, it's only a matter of time before it gets a ticket to the Euros.
After this match, Portugal coach Roberto Martinez said, 'Gonzalo Ramos has shown what he can do. Diego Jota did the same. We need players who can win matches. This team is special. No need to compare them. Cristiano is important. But equally without him our team is ready to win.
555.511 SRY