LISBON :- Cristiano Ronaldo’s late strike sealed Portugal’s 2-1 win over Scotland and the 901st goal of the striker’s extraordinary career capped a thrilling Nations League clas. Ronaldo reached 900 career goals in his 131st international game in Thursday’s win over Croatia.
39-year-old showed no signs of being fed up with the incredible milestone as he came off the bench to lead Portugal to their second straight Nations League Group A1 win. The Estadio da Luz in Lisbon rose in unison to chant the name of tireless striker Al-Nassr after he struck two minutes into the game. On his 30th birthday, Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes fired in a second-half brace in Portugal after his former Old Trafford team-mate Scott McTominay surprisingly gave Scotland an early lead.
For Portugal boss Roberto Martinez, victory over Scotland could mean an awkward silence at his next family reunion. Martinez met his wife Beth while playing for Scottish club Motherwell in 2001 and joked before the game that he would be happy to beat his father-in-law by beating Scotland. He did just that, leaving Scotland still waiting for their first win over Portugal. Scotland, who beat Poland 3-2 at Hampden Park on Thursday, have won just once in 14 games in a barren run that included their lackluster failure in the Euro 2024 group stage. Steve Clarke’s men have lost six of their nine games in 2024, with the only win coming in a friendly against Gibraltar in June. “When you bring quality players off the bench like Roberto can, you always know there’s a risk,” Clarke said. “I’m really disappointed for my players because I think they deserved to get something from the game. “But with the amount of balls going into the box, you know one of them might go into the back of the net, and that’s what happened to us.