Ronaldo’s spectacular overhead kick highlighted Portugal’s dominance over Poland. Poland scored a consolation goal in the 88th minute of the match, but it was not enough to overturn Portugal’s emphatic 5-1 victory on Friday.
Rafael Leao opened the scoring with a header just before the hour mark, and Ronaldo doubled the lead with a cool penalty midway through the 72nd minute. Portugal then scored three times in the space of eight minutes, with Bruno Fernandes, Pedro Neto and Ronaldo again on the scoresheet. Poland’s Dominik Marczuk scored a consolation goal in the 88th minute.
Portugal coach Roberto Martínez was pleased with his team’s second-half turnaround. He said, “The first half was disappointing, we lost focus and got frustrated. But the second half under my management was the best.” “We changed our mentality, increased the intensity and supported each other. We did not allow Poland to play.”
The win extended Portugal’s unbeaten lead to the top of the group with 13 points, six ahead of second-placed Croatia, which lost 1-0 to Scotland. Poland are now tied with Scotland in third place on four points. On the final matchday, Poland will host Scotland, while Portugal will travel to Croatia.
Poland got off to a bright start despite missing their all-time top scorer Robert Lewandowski due to a back injury. They created better chances in the first half with three shots on target while Portugal did not hit a single shot. In the 12th minute, Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa saved Bartosz Berezinski’s header and Costa was also called into action to deny Krzysztof Zalewski’s powerful shot from the edge of the box.
Portugal were sluggish in the first 45 minutes, with both Leao and Ronaldo failing to convert good chances before the break. However, the host team came out with new energy in the second half. Leao regained possession in his own box, sprinted up the pitch and delivered a precise cross to score the opening goal.
Portugal got a penalty after a handball in the box, which Ronaldo confidently converted. The hosts’ dominance continued as Bruno Fernandes fired a powerful shot from distance which deflected off the crossbar and into the net to make it 3–0. Pedro Neto scored the fourth goal from a tight angle inside the near post in the 83rd minute.
Ronaldo then sealed his brace with an acrobatic overhead kick in the 87th minute, taking his international goal tally to 135. Poland scored a goal through substitute Marczuk, who scored his first international goal in the 88th minute, but it was little more than that. A consolation.
The win ensures that Portugal, the 2019 Nations League champions, secure their fourth consecutive top-two finish in the competition.
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