Ronaldo shines as Portugal rout Poland to reach Nations League last-eight

Portugal join France, Germany, Italy and Spain in the last eight while Poland's hopes of going through from Group A1 were ended. Having struggled to plant a shot on target in the first half, Portugal stepped on the accelerator after the break.

Rafael Leao broke the deadlock in Porto just before the hour mark after starting and finishing the move. The AC Milan striker raced away and passed to Nuno Mendes whose cross from the left was headed powerfully past Marcin Bulka in the Portugal goal.

Thirteen minutes later, skipper Ronaldo got his name on the scoresheet, converting a penalty after Jakub Kiwior was penalised for a handball in the area. Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes made it 3-0 in the 80th minute, scoring after a clever run by Vitinha.

Pedro Neto added the fourth three minutes later after Ronaldo's fine pass which left the Polish defence stranded. As Polish spirits sank, Ronaldo added his second and Portugal's fifth in the 87th minute with a spectacular overhead kick before Dominik Marczuk tucked away a consolation goal for the visitors.

Poland had enjoyed the better chances before falling behind but their potency in front of goal was blunted by the absence of record goal-scorer Robert Lewandowski who was sidelined with a back injury.

Moments before Leao's goal, Portuguese keeper Diogo Costa pulled off a fine save to deny Marczuk having also been alert to deny Nicola Zalewski in the first half. Portugal's best chance in the first 45 minutes had fallen to Ronaldo who fired a close-range effort over the bar from close range.

 

November 15, 2024