Two wins, 10 goals scored, zero conceded, first place in Group J of the Euro 2024 qualifiers
Roberto Martínez could have hardly hoped for a better start to his career as Portuguese manager with two easy wins against Liechtenstein and Luxembourg in the first two matches of the Euro 2024 qualifiers.
A 4-0 home win against Liechtenstein on Thursday was followed up on Sunday by an 0-6 away win against Luxembourg. All in all, Portugal scored 10 goals without conceding any and is already at the top of Group J with six points, ahead of Slovakia with four, and Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iceland with three each.
The home match against Liechtenstein, the sixth smallest nation in the world, was completely one-sided, and understandably so, with the opposing side doing what it could to stop Portugal’s attacking prowess.
Cristiano Ronaldo was back in the starting line-up after being relegated to the bench for the final matches of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, while Martínez debuted a new tactic featuring three centre-backs.
It took just eight minutes for Portugal to take the lead with a powerful shot from outside the box by right-back João Cancelo, with Bernardo Silva making it 2-0 just after the break.
Ronaldo added a brace after scoring a penalty and an impressive free kick, but perhaps more importantly proved that he may still have a (large) role to play with the national team.
His performance earned him a second straight start against Luxembourg in a match which was decided in the first half hour, with Ronaldo nabbing another brace (extending his international goal record to 122) and João Félix and Bernardo Silva scoring one each to make it 0-4 with 60 minutes still to play.
While Portugal did not have as much ball possession or shots against Luxembourg compared to Liechtenstein, the national team was much more clinical about its scoring opportunities and added two more in the second half, courtesy of substitutes Otávio and Rafael Leão (who minutes earlier missed a penalty).
Roberto Martínez was delighted with the performance of his players, stressing that their “attitude” was the most important aspect of the night.
“Today it was important to have intensity from the start and play as a team. We did that, scoring six goals and missing a penalty,” said the new manager, highlighting that his team did not concede goals.
“Luxembourg always tries to create chances at home. We had a great ability to maintain concentration. I am very happy but this is just the beginning. We have to work a lot to improve,” Martínez added.
Portugal’s next two matches will be at home against Bosnia and Herzegovina (June 17) and away against Iceland (June 20).
