Ronaldo Scores Once In Portugal's 7-0 Rout Of Andorra
LISBON, Portugal: Cristiano Ronaldo scored once in Portugal’s 7-0 rout of Andorra in a friendly on Wednesday, moving a step closer to becoming the all-time top scorer for a national team.
Ronaldo reached 102 goals with Portugal to sit seven shy of the 109 scored by former Iran striker Ali Daei, the only other male soccer player to surpass the 100-goal milestone for a national team. Ronaldo broke the century mark after scoring twice in Portugal’s Nations League win over Sweden in October.
Coming off a minor knee injury and having recently been sidelined by a positive COVID-19 result, Ronaldo entered the match after halftime at the Stadium of Light in Lisbon. He made it 6-0 with a close-range header in the 85th minute after having squandered a few good chances.
He had replaced Pedro Neto, the 20-year-old Wolverhampton forward who was making his national team debut and opened the scoring for Portugal in the eighth minute. Joo Paulo added to the lead in the 29th and Renato Sanches scored in the 56th.
Paulinho, who was also making his Portugal debut, scored in the 61st. An own-goal by Andorra’s Emili Garcia in the 76th made it 5-0, and Joo Flix closed the scoring in the final minutes.
Portugal also had a goal disallowed by offside in the 71st.
Barcelona forward Francisco Trinco started up front and was flanked by Neto and Paulinho. Portugal coach Fernando Santos also handed a debut to central defender Domingos Duarte.
Portugal hosts France on Saturday in the Nations League, then visits Croatia on Tuesday. It trails Group B leader Ukraine by three points entering its final two matches in the European competition.
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