The historic victory happened in the Algarve
Portugal celebrated their biggest win ever with a 9-0 thrashing of Luxembourg on Monday evening at the Estádio do Algarve (Algarve Stadium).
Two goals each by Sporting defender Gonçalo Inácio and Paris Saint-Germain striker (and Algarve native) Gonçalo Ramos gave Portugal a 4-0 lead in the first half, while Diogo Jota added another brace in the second half. The remaining goals were scored by Ricardo Horta, João Félix and Bruno Fernandes.
With Cristiano Ronaldo unavailable after having seen a yellow card in Portugal’s previous Euro 2024 qualifier match – a 1-0 away win in Slovakia on Friday – the national team took control of the match early on and never took its foot off the gas.
The nine-goal barrage was even more surprising considering that Luxembourg’s national football team has taken a leap in quality in recent years. Aside from their two defeats against Portugal’s in Group J of the Euro 2024 qualifying round, Luxembourg have won three matches (2-0 against Liechtenstein and Bosnia and Herzegovina and 3-1 against Iceland) and drawn another (0-0 against Slovakia) and are still in contention for a spot in next year’s Euro.
Portugal’s coach Roberto Martínez described his team’s performance as “perfect”.
“The players kept the same attitude until the very last minute. It is very difficult to continue with maximum concentration in a match when you already have a four- or five-goal advantage,” he told reporters.
Portugal continue their immaculate path to the Euro 2024, with six wins in six matches, 24 goals scored and zero conceded, and a five-point advantage over second-placed Slovakia.
“It is amazing. For us, this is a starting point, but we need to continue working and improving like we saw against Slovakia. The players deserve what happened here today (Monday). The score is a result of very hard work,” Martínez added.
The historic win was even celebrated by Portuguese President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who attended the nine-goal thrashing in the Algarve.
“I cannot remember such a good first half from our national team. It was a great result and a great show. The only thing that bothers me is that we have many Portuguese in Luxembourg. Maybe this was a bit too heavy for Luxembourg,” the president said.
“We played very well. All our goals were good. We played quickly and with imagination, and it was a night in which everything went well. There is no doubt that this is a historic rout,” Marcelo added.
Portugal have four more matches to play in Group J but could potentially secure qualification for the Euro 2024 with a win against Slovakia on October 13 at Estádio do Dragão (Porto).
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