Ronaldo Buys Two Goals, Portugal Qualifies For Euro 2024 Finals

Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated the goal he scored against Slovakia in the Euro 2024 qualifying match. (Twitter @EURO2024)

JAKARTA - Portugal is unstoppable in the Euro 2024 qualifiers. In the seventh match of Group J at the Do Dragao Stadium, Saturday, October 14 in the morning WIB, Portugal won 3-2 over Slovakia. Captain Cristiano Ronaldo bought up two goals that brought Portugal through to Germany.

Portugal won the perfect points in qualifying matches. From seven matches, Portugal always won so they got 21 points and finished as group winners.

With one more game remaining, Portugal's points cannot be chased by its competitors. Including Slovakia, which is in second place, only has 13 points.

Slovakia itself cannot confirm getting a second ticket to the finals. The reason is, Slovakia is only two points ahead of Luxembourg, which is in third place.

The fate of both teams will be determined in the last match when Luxembourg host Slovakia. In that final match, Slovakia only needed a draw to accompany Portugal.

The match against Portugal is not easy for Slovakia. The reason is, they face a leading team who play at home.

Even in that match, the hosts controlled the game. They also had a brilliant start and the Goncalo Ramos striker took the lead team in the 18th minute.

The goal stems from Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes' cross which was met with Ramos' header to beat goalkeeper Martin Dubravka.

Winning 1-0 made Portugal play more aggressively. As a result, they increased their advantage through Ronaldo's penalty in the 29th minute.

The penalty was given after Slovak defender Denis Vavro touched the ball in the forbidden box. The referee reviewed the incident via VAR before pointing to the spot.

Ronaldo completed the execution and scored his 124th goal for the national team. Portugal also won 2-0 when ending the first half.

In the second half, Slovakia tried to get up. As a result, David Hancko managed to break into Portugal's goal in the 69th minute.

The goal started with Hancko's kick which then changed course after hitting Antonio Silva's heel. The goal made Portugal concede for the first time in qualifying matches.

But Ronaldo made Portugal widen the advantage in the 72nd minute. The Al Nassr star met Fernandes' cross which made him collect the 125th goal. The score changed to 3-1.

Slovakia can still add goals to reduce defeat. This time, Stanislav Lobotka who broke into the home goal in the 80th minute. The final score is 3-2 for Portugal.