Cristiano Ronaldo bags his tenth hat-trick for Portugal
A 58th career hat-trick from Cristiano Ronaldo helped Portugal stroll to a 5-0 home win over Luxembourg in Group A of the World Cup qualifying round of matches in Europe.
The treble meant Ronaldo became the first man to net 10 international hat-tricks, taking his tally to 115 international goals from 182 caps as he continues to pull away as the top men’s international goalscorer of all-time.
Victory ensures Portugal remain a point behind leaders Serbia, who moved onto 17 points with a 3-1 home win over Azerbaijan, with a game in hand and superior goal difference.
Ronaldo struck twice from the penalty spot before Bruno Fernandes made it three as he fired in following good work from Bernardo Silva.
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The forward then missed clinical chances either side of the break as he sought a third, before being denied a spectacular hat-trick goal when Anthony Moris kept out his acrobatic overhead kick.
Portugal did not have to wait long for their fourth as midfielder Joao Palhinha headed in from the resulting corner with just over 20 minutes to go.
Ronaldo was not to be denied as the hosts pushed on, netting three minutes from stoppage time with a header from close range.
Next month, Fernando Santos’s Portugal side travel to Ireland before hosting Serbia in what could be a winner-takes-all fixture to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
