Ronaldo scores in Portugal win
Published on: Thursday, June 21, 2018
MOSCOW: Cristiano Ronaldo made European soccer history by scoring in Portugal's 1-0 win over Morocco on Wednesday, a result that makes the North African team the first to be eliminated from the World Cup.Ronaldo's header in the fourth minute was his fourth goal at this year's tournament, and his 85th for his country. That put him ahead of Hungary great Ferenc Puskas and alone in second place worldwide behind Ali Daei's 109 goals for Iran.
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The Portugal forward celebrated his goal with a trademark run and soaring leap toward the corner flag at Luzhniki Stadium.Morocco lost 1-0 for the second straight Group B match and is out of contention for a spot in the next round while European champions Portugal edged closer to the last 16.The North Africans had several chances against Portugal, nearly all from set pieces, and three of them came in a five-minute spell early in the second half. Younes Belhanda was twice denied by goalkeeper Rui Patricio's diving saves, and defender Mehdi Benatia scooped a shot over the bar.In injury time, Benatia lifted another shot too high with an even clearer chance.
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Victory sent Portugal top of Group B on four points ahead of Spain's game against Iran in Kazan.Meanwhile, Russia coach Stanislav Cherchesov hopes the best is yet to come for the World Cup hosts after they virtually sealed their place in the last 16 by easing past Egypt 3-1 despite Mohamed Salah's return on Tuesday.
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An own goal by Egypt captain Ahmed Fathi opened the floodgates on a sodden night in Saint Petersburg before goals from Denis Cheryshev and Artem Dzyuba bolstered Russian hopes they can defy pre-tournament expectations with a deep run into the latter stages.Salah did net Egypt's first goal at a World Cup in 28 years from the penalty spot after he had been hauled down 17 minutes from time, but it was too little, too late for the Pharaohs.Russia will be guaranteed a place in the last 16 and Egypt eliminated unless Saudi Arabia beat Uruguay on Wednesday."I hope there are many more to come," said Cherchesov when asked if he had enjoyed the best day of his life by almost certainly leading Russia into the knockout stages for the first time since 1986.A run of seven games without a win leading into the tournament had dampened expectations in the host nation.However, after smashing Saudi Arabia 5-0 in the opening game, Russia showed they are a force to contend with in the latter stages of the competition by blowing Egypt away with a three-goal salvo in 15 second-half minutes."We have made a step in the right direction," added Cherchesov when asked if Russia could now go onto win the World Cup.And he claimed too much was made of poor friendly results in the past year when facing marquee opposition such as France, Spain, Brazil and Argentina."Everybody remembers our games from the past but people forget when you play against the teams we played against, you need to be prepared very well."We did our homework in the preparation and selection of the players. We are very happy to give this joy to our supporters."Salah was making his first appearance since injuring his left shoulder when falling heavily after being dragged to the ground by Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos in the Champions League final just over three weeks ago. He had missed Friday's 1-0 defeat to Uruguay and Salah looked far from the player who scored 44 goals in his debut season with Liverpool, and former Chelsea left-back Yuri Zhirkov was not afraid to test his fitness with a series of robust challenges."I think that no-one can doubt the importance he has for the national team," said Egypt coach Hector Cuper.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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