Roberto Martinez marks the new era of Portuguese football by sealing off a commanding victory over Liechtenstein in Euro 2024 Qualifiers on Friday. Portugal regained their prowess at the international level after producing possibly the most fluid play, one could ever witness.
Joao Cancelo set the flow with a goal quite early in the game following a corner. The Portuguese right-back struck a half-volley from the edge of the box to give the hosts a lead in the 8th minute of the game. While Liechtenstein struggled, Portugal came back again and again knocking at the door of visitors but always denied by the barest of margins. The hosts continued their domination over struggling Liechtenstein in the second half as well. But this time Portugal’s effort was highlighted on the scoreline. In a span of 6 minutes, Portugal struck twice with Bernardo Silva and Cristiano Ronaldo registering their names on the scoresheet. Silva scored the second goal from a close range in the 47th minute to make it 2-0.
Joao Cancelo earned a penalty a few moments later which was converted by the Portuguese skipper to make it 3-0 in the 51st minute. Portugal didn’t refrain from posing an attacking threat even after securing a victory. They maintained the intensity and bore fruits for their efforts in the 63rd minute of the game. The Portuguese goal-scoring machine got his second goal from a close-range free kick to make it 4-0. As the net rattled from the impact with the ball, Ronaldo ran straight in front of the home crowd stand to hit his iconic celebration. In that second the only word that echoed in the stadium was ‘Siu’.
Portugal ended the match with 35 shots and Ronaldo ended the match by bagging his 120th international goal. Even at the age of 38, Ronaldo still possesses the wicked ability to score goals and create chances according to his own will.
They will play their next game against Luxembourg at the Luxembourg Stadium on Monday.
