Portugal 3-0 Azerbaijan: Ronaldo at the double
OPORTO, Portugal, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Winger Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Portugal beat Azerbaijan 3-0 in their Euro 2008 Group A qualifier on Saturday.
It was Portugal's first win in two qualifiers following a
1-1 draw in Finland last month. They meet Poland away on
Wednesday.
Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari told RTP television he
had not expected the game to be easy, adding 'we had to shoot,
to experiment, to shoot from outside he area.
'We have a team which knows the routine, which has played
together for a long time. Time is helping us,' Scolari said.
Ronaldo opened the scoring after 25 minutes when he gave
goalkeeper Farhad Veliyev no chance with a shot inside the box
from a pass by playmaker Deco.
Defender Ricardo Carvalho doubled the lead when he shot home
after Ronaldo's free kick had been parried by Veliyev after half
an hour.
The Manchester United player scored his second and
Portugal's third after 63 minutes when he headed in a cross from
the right by Simao Sabrosa.
Looking ahead to Wednesday, Ronaldo said: 'We have a very
difficult game against Poland, I hope we will be in form.'
In the last minute, substitute Vagif Javadov had a good
chance to score a consolation goal but his shot was saved by
goalkeeper Ricardo Pereira.