European Qualifiers: Ronaldo leaves it late for Portugal, Haaland hits two for Norway, Moldova fightback floors Poland
Tuesday, June 20, 2023
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Cristiano Ronaldo scored a late winner in his 200th Portugal game, while two Erling Haaland goals helped Norway beat Cyprus and Moldova came from two down to shock Poland.
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Cristiano Ronaldo enjoyed another special night by scoring a late winner on his 200th appearance for Portugal, while Norway beat Cyprus and there were two big surprise results.
UEFA.com rounds up the Matchday 4 fixtures on the road to the finals in Germany.
Tuesday's results
Group A: Norway 3-1 Cyprus, Scotland 2-0 Georgia
Group E: Faroe Islands 1-3 Albania, Moldova 3-2 Poland
Group F: Austria 2-0 Sweden, Estonia 0-3 Belgium
Group G: Bulgaria 1-1 Serbia, Hungary 2-0 Lithuania
Group J: Bosnia and Herzegovina 0-2 Luxembourg, Iceland 0-1 Portugal, Liechtenstein 0-1 Slovakia
Iceland 0-1 Portugal
Cristiano Ronaldo marked his 200th international appearance with a late winner in Reykjavik as he overcame a night of frustration to keep up Portugal's 100% start to EURO qualifying with a 1-0 win in Iceland. The forward was presented with a commemorative shirt before kick-off but was a peripheral figure in the first half and was unable to make much impact in the second either.
After Iceland's Willum Willumsson was sent off for two bookable offences in the final ten minutes, however, Ronaldo tapped in his 123rd goal for his country a minute from the end – with VAR confirming the goal after finding Gonçalo Inácio had been onside with his assist.
Key stat: Portugal have matched their best ever start to a EURO qualifying campaign with four wins and have also won six consecutive EURO preliminaries without conceding a goal.
Austria 2-0 Sweden
Christoph Baumgartner's late double gave Austria a deserved home win that kept them top of Group F. Sweden goalkeeper Robin Olsen looked set to be the hero with a string of superb saves to deny the hosts, a one-handed stop to keep out Xaver Schlager's powerful shot at the end of the first half the pick of the bunch.
The Aston Villa goalkeeper made 12 saves in all but was finally beaten in the 81st minute when he could not hold a shot from Florian Grillitsch and Baumgartner slid in to convert. Olsen then denied Grillitsch again, only for Baumgartner to again pick up the pieces and head in a clinching second with a minute left.
Key stat: Michael Gregoritsch attempted nine shots in this game, the joint-highest total for a player in the UEFA European Championship qualifiers this season.
Elsewhere
- With 360 days until UEFA EURO 2024, fans in Gelsenkirchen witnessed the first stadium appearance of the tournament mascot. The finals are getting closer! Hosts Germany lost 2-0 to Colombia
- Erling Haaland scored twice in Norway's 3-1 win over Cyprus to move joint-ninth in the top scorers chart, with a total of three goals to his name so far.
- Also in contention for the scoring prize is Scott McTominay, who got his fifth of the campaign with Scotland's second in a 2-0 home win against Georgia that made it four wins from four, and an eight-point lead, in Group A.
- There were two surprising results as Moldova stunned Poland with a 3-2 win after going two goals down while Luxembourg beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 2-0 away.
Monday's results
Group B: France 1-0 Greece, Republic of Ireland 3-0 Gibraltar
Group C: Ukraine 1-0 Malta, England 7-0 North Macedonia
Group D: Armenia 2-1 Latvia, Türkiye 2-0 Wales
Group H: Finland 6-0 San Marino, Northern Ireland 0-1 Kazakhstan, Slovenia 1-1 Denmark
Group I: Belarus 2-1 Kosovo, Israel 2-1 Andorra, Switzerland 2-2 Romania
England 7-0 North Macedonia
Bukayo Saka struck a brilliant hat-trick as Gareth Southgate's men extended their winning Group C run with an impressive showing at Old Trafford. Harry Kane broke the visitors' resistance on the half-hour mark, before Saka's powerful finish from a tight angle and Marcus Rashford's effort extended the hosts' advantage.
Arsenal winger Saka added another shortly after half-time with a stunning half-volley before slotting in from Kane's through ball four minutes later. There was still time remaining for sub Kalvin Phillips to tap in his first international goal from close range and Kane to convert an emphatic penalty to add to the Three Lions' tally and condemn North Macedonia to their heaviest ever defeat.
Key stat: The 21-year-old Saka is the youngest England player to hit a treble since Theo Walcott against Croatia in September 2008.
Switzerland 2-2 Romania
Two late goals from Valentin Mihăilă earned Romania an unlikely point from a game in Lucerne. Zeki Amdouni's double before the break – taking the Basel forward to five goals in as many international outings – put Switzerland firmly in control and they could have had a third after the restart but Xherdan Shaqiri put a close-range chance wide.
After a penalty awarded to Renato Steffen was overturned by VAR, the visitors hit back. Mihăilă volleyed in a minute from the end before providing another low finish deep into added time to secure a share of the spoils. Switzerland stay top of Group I, two points clear of Monday's opponents.
Key stat: Romania's comeback denies Switzerland a national record seventh successive EURO qualifying win – and stretches their own unbeaten record to five games.
France 1-0 Greece
Kylian Mbappé's retaken penalty maintained Les Bleus' perfect record in Group B. Didier Deschamps' side often struggled to find a route through their compact opponents, and finally got their chance eight minutes after the interval when Konstantinos Mavropanos conceded a penalty for a challenge on Antoine Griezmann.
Odysseas Vlachodimos saved Mbappé's first effort but there was encroachment, and the France captain's retaken effort produced his 40th international goal. Mavropanos' foul on a goalbound Randal Kolo Muani 20 minutes from time saw the centre-back sent off for second-placed Greece, who now lie six points behind France although they do have a game in hand.
Key stat: Mbappé scored 54 goals for club and country in 2022/23, surpassing Just Fontaine's national record.
Elsewhere
- Vålerenga winger Daniel Håkans, 22, scored a ten-minute hat-trick as Finland beat San Marino 6-0, their biggest win since 2010.
- Rasmus Højlund maintained his lead in the top scorer rankings with Denmark's equaliser in Slovenia, his sixth goal of the campaign.
- Türkiye struck twice in the last 18 minutes to see off a Wales side that played over half the game with ten men.