Cristiano Ronaldo stole the limelight with a sensational goal during Portugal's win over Poland on Saturday night. The legendary footballer scored two goals as Portugal registered a 5-1 win to seal the quarter-final berth in the Nations League.
Poland held the hosts to 0-0 in the first half but were clueless in the last 45 minutes at Estadio do Dragao in Porto. AC Milan's Rafael Leao gave Portugal a breakthrough and then Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and Pedro Neto found the back of the nets with the Al-Nassr star scoring a brace.
Ronaldo's second goal stunned the crowd as the former Manchester United star pulled off another overhead kick near the goalpost. PSG midfielder Vitinha came from the bench to provide a cross down the right flack for Ronaldo's goal.
Meanwhile, the 39-year-old superstar registered a major milestone with Portugal's win over Poland. Ronaldo broke his former Real Madrid teammate Sergio Ramos' record for the player with most international wins. It was Ronaldo's 132nd win in his 217 games for the Euro 2016 winners. Ramos had won 131 international matches for Spain but in just 180 appearances.
With 4 wins in five games, Portugal also secured the Nations League quarter-final berth from Group A. They remain unbeaten in the group stages and will take on the second-placed Croatia in their last away match on Monday.
After a disappointing quarter-final exit at the Euros 2024, Roberto Martinez's side has registered four wins and a draw in five matches. They struggled in the final third in the first half against the Polish defence but seemed a totally different side in the second half.
"The first half was very bad for what we wanted to do, we lost focus and got frustrated. But the second half was the best I've seen," Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez said. "We've changed the mentality and increased the intensity and mutual support. We didn't let Poland play."
