A late tap-in took Cristiano Ronaldo to within touching distance of a new landmark as Portugal beat Luxembourg 2-0 to qualify for Euro 2020.
2020 EURO qualification
0-2
Match Report
Cristiano Ronaldo took his tally of international goals to 99 with a late tap-in as Portugal secured a place at Euro 2020 with a laboured 2-0 win over Luxembourg.
Ronaldo fell just short of becoming the second player in history to reach a century for his country after Iran's Ali Daei on an afternoon when he struggled on a slow pitch at Stade Jose Barthel, where the reigning European champions were made to work hard for the victory.
The creative endeavour of Bernardo Silva proved more of a threat than Ronaldo's presence and it was the Manchester City playmaker who teed up Bruno Fernandes to break the deadlock late in the first half of Sunday's Group B clash.
Thereafter Portugal offered little and those gathered at Stade Josy Barthel to see Ronaldo make history were instead treated to an impressive display from a side ranked 96th in the world by FIFA, but the Juventus talisman did manage to score from practically on the line with four minutes remaining.
Group Standings
Match Events
9' CLOSE! Ronaldo's shot saved
Ronaldo twists, turns and fires straight at Moris from a narrow angle!
Either side of the goalkeeper and that might have been the opener. Instead, it's a sharp save.
27' CHANCE! Ronaldo's long shot wide out
Pizzi picks out Ronaldo in a lot of space on the edge of the box and the captain goes for goal.
He's aiming for the far corner with the shot, but can't get the curl on it to get it on target.
39' GOAL! Luxembourg 0-1 Portugal (Bruno Fernandes)
Fernandes makes a good run in front of Ronaldo at the edge of the box to get on the ball before going for goal.
He keeps his shot low and catches Moris out at his near post as he finds the bottom corner. 1-0 Portugal!
51' CHANCE! Rodrigues' shot wide out
Pizzi whips a corner into the box and Fonte rises above his defender to get his head to the ball.
Moris is scrambling across his line to try and get to it, but it ends up bouncing just wide of the post.
79' CLOSE! Ronaldo's free-kick wide out
Ronaldo is standing over the free-kick and he curls his effort over the wall and towards the far corner.
It's swerving away from goal though and finishes just wide of the post.
86' GOAL! Luxembourg 0-2 Portugal (Ronaldo)
Silva's cross into the box perfectly picks out Jota, but his scuffed shot is stopped by Moris.
The keeper can't hold onto it though and it bounces up perfectly for Ronaldo to turn in on the goal line. He's now just one goal off 100 for his country. 2-0 Portugal!
Player Ratings
Line-ups
Luxembourg XI: L. Gerson, A. Moris, M. Deville, M. Chanot, L. Jans, D. Turpel, G. Rodrigues, A. Skenderovic, D. Carlson, V.Thill, L. Barreiro
Subs: D. Alves da Mota, S. Bensi, A. Joachim, K. Malget, Philipps, M. Martins, F. Bohnert, T. Hall, Selimovic, O. Thill, D. Sinani, R. Schon
Portugal XI: Ronaldo, Fonte, Patricio, Pizzi, Danilo Pereira, Guerreiro, Andre Silva, Ricardo Pereira, Bruno Fernandes, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva
Subs: Moutinho, Beto, Eder, Mario Rui, Bruma, Cancelo, Goncalo, Ruben Semedo, Jose Sa, Neves, Duarte, Jota