With two goals in Portugal’s victory, Cristiano Ronaldo set a world record for his 197th international appearance. Harry Kane became England’s all-time leading scorer with a penalty in Italy’s victory.
Harry Kane scored his 54th international goal to break the national record for goals scored. England held on for a win in Naples that was ultimately tense. After Kane’s shot was deflected, the opener was scored by Declan Rice.
Following Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s handball that sent Gianluigi Donnarumma in the wrong direction, the captain of the Three Lions scored from the spot just before the break, making history.
With a crisp finish shortly after the break, Mateo Retegui, winning his first Azzurri cap, made life difficult for the visitors. Luke Shaw’s dismissal for a second bookable offence ten minutes later made things even more difficult for England, but they held on for their first victory against the Azzurri on Italian soil since 1961.
However, Italy’s defeat was their first in 41 EURO qualifiers since September 2006, when they lost to France.
Portugal:
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Portugal won a convincing 4-0 victory over Liechtenstein. With his 197th appearance, the Portugal forward became the world’s most-capped male player with a textbook second-half penalty and a thunderous free kick.
After eight minutes, influential Joo Cancelo scored with a deflected strike from the edge of the box to give Portugal the lead on Roberto Martnez’s first start as coach. However, Liechtenstein, particularly goalkeeper Benjamin Büchel, worked hard to keep their hosts at bay until the break.
Portugal Owe Out A Big Appreciation To Cristiano Ronaldo
Ronaldo scored his 119th international goal shortly after Ronaldo converted from the penalty spot 70 seconds after the restart. With a free kick from the edge of the box, No120 got there quickly. Ronaldo has scored against 47 countries, the most recent being Liechtenstein.
In contrast, Denmark defeated Finland 3-1 as well. Rasmus Hjlund scored a hat trick on his full international debut as Kasper Hjulmand’s team started their Group H campaign in Copenhagen with a victory.
At halftime, the 20-year-old Atalanta forward headed Alexander Bah’s pass into the far corner to give the Danes a deserved advantage. Eight minutes into the second half, Oliver Antman’s third goal in four international appearances brought the score level, and Finland goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky made a string of excellent saves to keep the Eagle Owls level.
However, Hjland completed his treble at the end by nodding Jonas Wind’s cutback past Hradecky from close range. Since Michael Laudrup scored three goals against Luxembourg in October 1983, Hjlund becomes the first Dane to score a hat trick in a EURO qualifier.
Slovenia defeated Kazakhstan 2-1 elsewhere.
After the first night of play, Denmark’s Hjlund leads the scorers’ rankings thanks to his hat trick against Finland; Charles, Ronaldo, and Rade Kruni of Bosnia and Herzegovina each have two.
Friday’s fixtures:
Group B: France vs Netherlands, Gibraltar vs Greece
Group E: Czechia vs Poland, Moldova vs Faroe Islands
Group F: Austria vs Azerbaijan, Sweden vs Belgium
Group G: Bulgaria vs Montenegro (18:00), Serbia vs Lithuania
Saturday’s fixtures:
Group A: Scotland vs Cyprus (15:00), Spain vs Norway
Group D: Armenia vs Türkiye (18:00), Croatia vs Wales
Group I: Belarus vs Switzerland (18:00), Andorra vs Romania, Israel vs Kosovo
