Portugal surged five points clear of their rivals atop Group J and retained their spotless record after five games with a 1-0 away victory over Slovakia on Friday thanks to a goal from Bruno Fernandes in the first half.
With his third goal in the Euro 2024 qualifiers, Fernandes celebrated his 29th birthday by beating Martin Dubravka with a low shot two minutes before halftime.
Slovakia had two solid chances to take the lead against Portugal in the first 15 minutes, thanks to forward Robert Polievka and winger Lukas Haraslin. Portugal had gotten off to a shaky start.
As the first half came to a close, Haraslin came within millimeters of scoring again with a curled shot from the edge of the box that just missed the right post.
In the second half, though, after Fernandes gave Portugal the lead, coach Roberto Martinez’s team were more like their typical selves, dominating possession and seeking to increase their lead, while Slovakia did well to keep the deficit at one goal.
Portugal has 15 points and will play home to Luxembourg on Monday. Slovakia is in second place with 10 points, and Luxembourg is in third place after beating Iceland 3-1. Slovakia is attempting to reach their third straight finals in Europe.
On October 13, both teams will compete in Porto.
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