•Portugal’s players celebrate after the match against Armenia yesterday
Cristiano Ronaldo helped an emotional Portugal enjoy a perfect start to their World Cup qualifying campaign as Thomas Tuchel’s uninspiring England remained unbeaten yesterday.
Portugal, playing for the first time since the death of their Liverpool forward Diogo Jota along with his brother Andre Silva in a car accident, took an impressive first step to the finals next year, sweeping aside Armenia 5-0 in Yerevan, reports AFP.
Both teams observed one minute’s silence before kickoff at the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium in tribute to Jota and his brother, who were killed in a crash in northern Spain on July 3, 11 days after Jota had married Rute Cardoso, the mother of his three children.
Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo was in sparkling form, Portugal’s irrepressible 40-year-old talisman scoring in either half, the second a sizzling shot from a distance, to take his record international tally to 140 goals, over two decades after his first.
A brace from Joao Felix, Ronaldo’s new teammate at Saudi side Al Nassr, and a contribution from another Saudi-based player, Joao Cancelo, lifted Roberto Martinez’s Nations League winners into a Group F lead.
– Portugal’s Number 21 –
Cancelo marked his goal by pointing to the skies with both hands in memory of Jota’s goal celebration.
Lazio left-back Nuno Tavares believed Ronaldo’s 21st-minute goal held special significance as 21 was the shirt number worn by Jota when playing for his country.
“We’re all very happy because it shows he’s (Jota) with us, that he was there, and that moment, Ronaldo’s goal, was made possible. He’ll always be with us, as was clear today,” said the defender.
Ronaldo said on social media it was the “first step taken” in his quest to appear at a sixth World Cup.
The Republic of Ireland face Hungary in the pool’s late fixture.
England extended their unbeaten run in Group K to four matches but hardly set the world alight in defeating modest Andorra 2-0 at Villa Park in Birmingham.
Christian Garcia’s first-half own-goal was followed by Declan Rice’s header to keep Tuchel’s team firmly on course for the 2026 football fiesta in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
But while the Three Lions will be more than satisfied with their 12 points this was in truth another underwhelming display that raised questions about Tuchel’s ability to produce a trophy-winning team from a gifted generation.
England were efficient but unspectacular, lacking guile and intelligence in the final third.
No wonder Tuchel wore a frustrated expression on the touchline.
Claiming the subdued crowd played a role in the display, the German said: “It’s difficult because it’s a very different crowd to a Premier League crowd.
“After the first goal we had 10 or 15 minutes with too many ball losses and lost our focus and concentration but in the second half, we found it again and should have scored more.”
The former Chelsea and Bayern Munich boss will want a more purposeful performance in the toughest test of his reign on Tuesday when England face their main Group K rivals Serbia.
“We’ve learned a lot and I’m glad for the players. Now we will prove a point in Belgrade,” said Tuchel.
The Serbs sit second in the mini-league on seven points after edging Latvia 1-0 in Riga.
Yesterday’s action concludes with Austria hosting Cyprus and Bosnia-Hercegovina at San Marino in Group H.
In total, 16 European nations will qualify for the World Cup.
The 12 group winners qualify directly; the four remaining berths are determined by playoffs involving the 12 group runners-up for the expanded 48-team finals.
