Staff Reporter.
@APPhoto.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a penalty and an overhead kick as Portugal beat Poland 5-1 to guarantee a place in the Nations League quarterfinals on Friday.
With Portugal 4-0 up in the final few minutes, Ronaldo acrobatically fired home at the far post for his second of the game.
All five Portugal goals were scored in a dominant second-half display, with Rafael Leao getting the ball rolling when he headed in the opener.
The hosts were then awarded a penalty following a foul by Arsenal defender Jakub Kiwior inside the box and Ronaldo stepped up to coolly send the spot-kick down the middle.
Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes grabbed a fine third, driving a fierce strike in off the underside of the bar, before Chelsea winger Pedro Neto wrapped up the big win with a powerful strike inside the near post.
Dominik Marczuk grabbed a late consolation for Poland but it did little to quell the celebrations from the Portugal fans following their superb second-half showing.
The two goals for Ronaldo continued his excellent form in the competition, having now scored five goals in five Nations League games.
The victory means Portugal progress as Group A1 winners, but Poland are unable to go through.
Meanwhile the match between Romania and Kosovo was suspended in stoppage time and later abandoned with the score 0-0 in Bucharest. There were scuffles between players from both teams and Kosovo players walked off the pitch.
European soccer body UEFA did not explain why the game was cut short but Kosovo players were reportedly upset at hearing pro-Serbian slogans.
“The UEFA Nations League match between Romania and Kosovo has been abandoned. UEFA will communicate further information in due course,” it said on its website.
Elsewhere Spain, which had already secured first place in Group A4, beat Denmark 2-1 in Copenhagen, and in the same group Serbia grabbed a late equalizer in Switzerland to condemn the Swiss to relegation into the second tier.
France, Italy, Germany, Spain, and Portugal are all assured one of the eight quarterfinal spots. The games will be held from March 20-23.
The eight teams are also guaranteed a spot in Pot 1 for the qualifying draw for the 2026 World Cup.