Portugal records 9-0 win without suspended Ronaldo

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Cristiano Ronaldo wasn’t necessary for Portugal to record its biggest victory in a competitive match.

Without Cristiano Ronaldo, who missed Monday’s 9-0 thrashing of Luxembourg in European Championship qualification due of a string of infractions in prior Group J games, the match was completed.

Portuguese teams have previously won by an 8-0 score on three occasions, twice against Liechtenstein (1994 and 1999) and once against Kuwait (2003).

In the Algarve, Goncalo Ramos, Goncalo Inacio, and Diogo Jota all scored twice in the absence of the five-time world player of the year and all-time leading scorer in men’s international matches. They were joined by goals from Ricardo Horta, Bruno Fernandes, and Joao Felix.

In a group that Portugal is now dominating with six straight victories, Ronaldo, 38, will have four more chances to add to his total of 123 goals for his country. No other team had as many wins in qualifying as they do.

The team of Roberto Martinez, who has now scored 24 goals without conceding one, remained five points in front of Slovakia and increased its lead over Luxembourg to eight points. The top two finishers in each group automatically qualify.

Ramos thrived in the role of Ronaldo’s replacement, scoring two of the team’s first three goals. He did it most memorably during the World Cup in Qatar last year when Ronaldo was benched by then-coach Fernando Santos for the match against Switzerland in the round of 16.

In that match, Ramos scored three goals and made his soccer debut. After the World Cup, he transferred from Benfica to Paris Saint-Germain and might eventually take Ronaldo’s place for the Portugal national side, which will undoubtedly compete in Euro 2024 in Germany next summer. Ronaldo currently plays for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia.

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