Portugal’s qualifying campaign will not have made a mistake: eight matches, eight successes including a few recitals like the one achieved this Monday in Zenica, with a 5-0 acquired at the break. Everything is going well for the new coach, Roberto Martinez, who begins his mandate with a series of historic successes. None of his predecessors had achieved this performance.
This allows him to establish a better assumed offensive control while sparing his illustrious veteran, Cristiano Ronaldo. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner scored a double in Bosnia-Herzegovina. His 126th and 127th achievements for the national team (the first from a penalty, the second from a service from Joao Felix) quickly unlocked a match which turned into a demonstration.
Until the break, the Seleçao marched on a completely overwhelmed opponent, with a starting team renewed by a good third compared to the previous match: the Parisian Gonçalo Ramos remained on the bench. Danilo Pereira played the entire match, first in the middle then in a central defense that changed to three at the end of the match. Vitinha came on as a substitute in the second half. If CR7 shone, like Bruno Fernandes, Gonçalo Inacio justified his tenure by his quality of recovery. It was his pass towards Joao Felix which broke the Bosnian lines on the second goal and his opening towards Bruno Fernandes transformed into an assist on the third.
Slovakia breaks away from Luxembourg
Slovakia defeated Luxembourg (1-0) in the high-stakes match of Group J thanks to a goal from David Duris (77th). With this success, Milan Skriniar and his teammates take a 5-point lead over their evening opponents with two matches remaining. The Slovaks will only need two points in their last two matches, against Iceland and Bosnia-Herzegovina, to qualify.
In the last match of the group, Iceland played logically against Liechtenstein (4-0). Lille’s Hakon Haraldsson completed his team’s festival with a clever lob on the opposing goalkeeper (63rd).
2023-10-16 21:38:46
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