Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 133rd international goal, extending his record, and helped Portugal win 3-1 against Poland in the Nations League on Saturday. Spain also had a late goal to defeat Denmark 1-0.
The 39-year-old star netted the rebound after Rafael Leão’s shot hit the post in the 37th minute, making the score 2-0 following Bernardo Silva’s goal in the 26th minute.
After not scoring in five games during this summer’s European Championship, where Portugal was eliminated in the quarterfinals, Ronaldo has now scored in three consecutive Nations League matches. This includes his 900th career goal against Croatia and another goal against Scotland last month.
Portugal’s coach, Roberto Martínez, substituted Ronaldo for Diogo Jota with just under 30 minutes left in the game.
Poland’s Piotr Zielinski reduced the lead to 2-1 in the 78th minute, but then Southampton defender Jan Bednarek accidentally scored an own goal just two minutes before the match ended.
Polish stars Robert Lewandowski and Karol Swiderski were unable to get past Portugal’s strong defense.
Martínez expressed satisfaction with the team’s performance, saying, “We worked very hard the last few days, preparing various solutions for this game, and we were able to show it on the pitch. I am really satisfied because we controlled this game.” He also praised Renato Veiga and Rúben Dias for their performance against one of the world’s best players, Lewandowski.
Portugal leads Group A1 with nine points from three matches, while Croatia is in second place with six points after beating Scotland 2-1 in Zagreb. Poland has three points, and Scotland is yet to score.
Scotland’s Ryan Christie scored first, but Igor Matanovic equalized just three minutes later, and Andrej Kramaric secured the win in the 70th minute. Scotland thought they had scored again at the end of the game, but VAR ruled it offside.
