This archive report was first published on 18 November 2019.
Published on November 18, 2019, Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 99th international goal in a 2-0 win over Luxembourg, securing their qualification for Euro 2020.
Portugal's Bruno Fernandes broke the deadlock in the 39th minute, and Ronaldo wrapped up the win with four minutes left, ensuring Portugal finished second in Group B with 17 points, three ahead of Serbia.
Diogo Jota's shot appeared to be going in, but Ronaldo prodded it over to claim the goal, leaving him one short of Iran's Ali Daei, the only player to have scored a century of goals for a national team.
‘I would have been very proud to have scored my first goal for the national team, but the important thing is we won,’ said Jota. ‘It doesn’t matter who scores — we are in the Euros and that is what we wanted.’
Portugal survived several early scares as they struggled to impose their game on a rain-soaked pitch at the Josy Barthel stadium.
‘We won’t be favourites but we are going there to win,’ said Portugal coach Fernando Santos, whose side also won the inaugural Nations League this year. ‘We are not the prettiest team but we have won two European tournaments in the last four years.’
