Portugal fights back for a win against Luxembourg
Belgium and the Netherlands scored 15 goals combined in big routs in World Cup qualifying on Tuesday, while Portugal got one from Cristiano Ronaldo in its victory against a Luxembourg team that tinkered with another shock result.
Belgium crushed Belarus 8-0 to stay at the top in Group E, while the Dutch trashed Gibraltar 7-0 to go second behind Turkey in Group G.
Ronaldo scored his 31st goal in World Cup qualifying early in the second half in Portugal’s victory.
Second half collapse
Gibraltar, ranked 195th in the world, kept the Netherlands largely at bay before the break but collapsed in the second half on the artificial turf of Victoria Stadium.
The visitors added to their 1-0 halftime lead with four goals by the 64th, then got two more closer to the end.
Turkey missed a chance to earn its third straight win after squandering a 2-0 lead in a 3-3 draw with Latvia.
The results: Group A: Luxembourg 1 (Rodrigues 30) lost to Portugal 3 (Jota 45+2, Ronaldo 51, Joao Palhinha 80); Azerbaijan 1 (Makhmudov 59-pen) lost to Serbia 2 (A. Mitrovic 16, 81).
Group E: Wales 1 (James 82) bt Czech Republic 0; Belgium 8 (Batshuayi 14, Vanaken 17, 89, Trossard 38, 76, Doku 42, Praet 49, Benteke 70) bt Belarus 0.
Group G: Gibraltar 0 lost to the Netherlands 7 (Berghuis 42, L. de Jong 55, Depay 61, 88, Wijnaldum 62, Malen 64, Van de Beek 85); Turkey 3 (Kenan Karaman 2, Hakan Calhanoglu 33, Burak Yilmaz 52) drew with Latvia 3 (Savalnieks 35, Uldrikis 58, D. Ikaunieks 79); Montenegro 0 lost to Norway 1 (Sorloth 35).
Group H: Croatia 3 (Perisic 62, Modric 76-pen, Brekalo 90) bt Malta 0; Slovakia 2 (Skriniar 38, Mak 74) bt Russia 1 (Fernandes 71); Cyprus 1 (Pittas 42) bt Slovenia 0.
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