Portugal put nine past Luxembourg in Euro qualifier
Hoping the suspension of Cristiano Ronaldo, who registered a brace in the reverse fixture, would prove to be a good omen amid their three-match winning streak, Luxembourg held strong until Bruno Fernandes took hold of proceedings.
Luc Holtz’s men were undone when the midfielder sent a terrific trivela cross towards Goncalo Inacio, who rose high to head in the first before Goncalo Ramos made the most of a defensive mishap by burying a low drive soon after.
Trailing by two goals inside the opening 20 minutes set the tone for the visitors, who were themselves no strangers to defying the odds.
June’s 2-0 win in Bosnia-Herzegovina might have ended a sequence of 16 Euro qualifiers winless away matches, but Portugal proved to be a different animal, with yet another six-goal drubbing in the works when Ramos tripled their lead.
A wonderful sprint and assist by Rafael Leao allowed the ex-Benfica striker to control the ball effortlessly before unleashing a strike through Anthony Morris’ legs.
Luxembourg were then left shattered on the brink of half-time when Fernandes once again fed Inacio for a header to make it 4-0 in favour of the hosts.
While the Red Lions went out in search of at least a consolation following the break, things got even worse on the hour mark.
In fantastic fashion, Fernandes engineered a splendid over-the-top assist for Diogo Jota, who broke through the visiting backline and caught Morris off his line with a well-executed finish.
Jota then turned provider for substitute Ricardo Horta’s brilliant first-time effort from the edge of the box, before taking the responsibility to net Portugal’s seventh with a cracking finish following a displaced pass.
Taking it up two notches from their 6-0 drubbing of the visitors back in March, Portugal eventually forced visiting manager Holtz to take a walk back to the dressing room six minutes before full-time when they struck an emphatic eighth of the evening.
This time, it was Fernandes who got on the scoresheet with a calm finish after receiving the ball from Horta.
However, the best finish of the evening was saved until last as Joao Felix executed a brilliant solo effort to cap Portugal’s sixth unbeaten Euro qualifier on the trot in style and bring the visitors back from elation after ending their three-match unbeaten streak.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Bruno Fernandes (Portugal)
Other Euro 2024 qualifying matches
In the other Group J matches, Slovakia defeated little Liechtenstein 3-0 to remain very much in the hunt for qualification while Iceland defeated Bosnia & Herzegovina 1-0.
Elsewhere, in Group D, Croatia defeated Armenia 1-0 in Yerevan in the early fixture to go top of the standings.
Later, Wales beat Latvia 2-0 to breathe some life into their qualifying campaign.
