LISBON, Portugal — It didn’t take lengthy for Cristiano Ronaldo to place the World Cup disappointment behind him.
Again as a starter with Portugal’s nationwide staff, Ronaldo turned the most-capped participant in males’s worldwide soccer on Thursday, scoring twice in a 4-0 rout of Liechtenstein in 2024 European Championship qualifying. The sport marked the debut of coach Roberto Martínez with Portugal.
Ronaldo transformed a penalty kick and scored off a free kick whereas making his 197th look with the nationwide staff. He had tied Kuwait’s Bader Al-Mutawa with 196 caps after coming off the bench in Portugal’s loss to Morocco within the quarterfinals of the World Cup final yr.
Ronaldo was benched within the knockout rounds in Qatar and left the sector in tears after the defeat to Morocco. He had mentioned his return to the nationwide staff was unsure after the World Cup, however ultimately determined it was not time “to throw within the towel.”
“To be within the nationwide staff, you must be dedicated,” Martínez mentioned of Ronaldo. “It’s a brand new cycle. It is extremely essential {that a} participant reveals dedication and that he can use his expertise. Cristiano has that: Plenty of expertise and lots of dedication to the nationwide staff.”
The 38-year-old Ronaldo can be the all-time scoring chief in males’s soccer and took his tally to 120 targets after scoring together with his penalty kick within the 51st and a strong free kick from simply exterior the realm within the 63rd.
Portugal dominated from the beginning on the José Alvalade Stadium, and João Cancelo opened the scoring within the eighth minute. He additionally arrange Bernardo Silva’s close-range purpose within the forty seventh and the penalty that Ronaldo transformed for the third purpose.
Ronaldo acquired a standing ovation after being substituted by Gonçalo Ramos within the 78th.
He had turn into Europe’s most-capped participant in 2021 after surpassing Sergio Ramos’ mark of 180 appearances with Spain.
Martínez arrived pledging to respect Ronaldo’s historical past and mentioned he nonetheless counts on Ronaldo. He made the ahead one in every of his captains getting into qualifying for Euro 2024.
Martínez changed former Portugal coach Fernando Santos after ending his six-year stint with Belgium following the World Cup.
“The end result is essential,” Martínez mentioned. “It was a possibility for me to get to know the gamers, the best way we are able to get the very best out of the gamers’ qualities. I get the angle and the need to work. I’m very happy with the end result.”
Portugal remained unbeaten in eight matches towards Liechtenstein, with seven wins and a draw. Portugal has gained every of its final 5 Euro qualifying matches towards Liechtenstein, all with out conceding a purpose and whereas scoring 32 occasions.
Portugal’s qualifying group additionally consists of Luxembourg, Iceland, Slovakia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Its subsequent match is at Luxembourg on Sunday. The highest two nations from every of the ten teams qualify for the ultimate match in Germany.
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