Ronaldo hattrick helps Portugal rout Luxembourg 5-0

The treble took Ronaldo's tally to 115 international goals from 182 caps as he continues to pull away as the top men's international goalscorer of all-time.

Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring against Luxembourg on Tuesday.

A 58th career hattrick for Cristiano Ronaldo helped Portugal stroll to a 5-0 home win over Luxembourg in Group A of FIFA World Cup qualifying on Tuesday.

Portugal had the game all but won within the first 18 minutes. Ronaldo struck twice from the penalty spot before his Manchester United teammate Bruno Fernandes made it three as he fired in following good work from Bernardo Silva.

The forward then missed two gilt-edged chances either side of the break as he sought a third, before being denied a spectacular hat-trick goal when Anthony Moris kept out his acrobatic overhead kick.

Portugal did not have to wait long for their fourth, however, as midfielder Joao Palhinha headed in from the resulting corner with just over 20 minutes to go.

Ronaldo was not to be denied as the hosts pushed on, netting three minutes from time with a header from close range.

The treble, which meant Ronaldo became the first man to net 10 international hat-tricks, takes his tally to 115 international goals from 182 caps as he continues to pull away as the top men's international goalscorer of all-time.

@Cristiano (115 goals)
Ali Daei (109)
Dahari (89)
Puskas (84)
Messi (80)

@Cristiano's 10th hat-trick for @selecaoportugal powers him on to 54 goals in his last 49 caps and further clear as the highest-scoring male in international football history pic.twitter.com/16rPrCQQ6V

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) October 12, 2021

 

Victory ensures Portugal remains a point behind leaders Serbia. Next month Fernando Santos's Portugal side travels to Ireland before then hosting Serbia in what could be a winner-takes-all fixture to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.