Cristiano Ronaldo makes history; Harry Kane becomes England’s top scorer

LONDON: Cristiano Ronaldo tucked away a penalty and slammed home a free kick as he set a new record for the most international caps in Portugal's 4-0 win over Liechtenstein in their opening Euro 2024 qualifier on Thursday.

Ronaldo celebrated his 197th cap, surpassing Kuwait's Bader Al-Mutawa, with a double as he returned to the starting line-up for their Group J qualifier at the Jose Alvalade Stadium.

He converted a 51st-minute penalty – his first goal against the tiny Alpine principality – as the home side went 3-0 up and added the fourth with a trademark free kick that bent back the hands of visiting goalkeeper Benjamin Buchel.

Joao Cancelo had put Portugal into an eighth-minute lead with a long-range half volley that took a slight deflection through a crowd of players, but Portugal were frustrated by solid defending from the visitors.

Seventy seconds into the second half, however, Bernardo Silva picked up a loose ball after Cancelo’s progress to goal was halted and rifled home for a 2-0 lead.

Ronaldo, who turned 38 last month, tucked in a penalty after Cancelo had been brought down before his rasping free kick in the 63rd minute extended his record for the most goals in international football to 120.

Earlier the Portugal captain, taken off in the 78th minute before he could bag a hat-trick, missed gilt-edged chances when he skied the ball in front of goal and glanced a header wide.

Harry Kane became England's record international goalscorer as his side began their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign by defeating reigning champions Italy 2-1 in Group C.

England's skipper struck a penalty past Italy keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma shortly before halftime to make it 2-0 and take his tally to 54, one more than Wayne Rooney.

Midfielder Declan Rice had opened the scoring after 13 minutes as Gareth Southgate's side dominated the first half.

Debutant striker Mateo Retegui halved the deficit in the 56th minute as Italy responded in impressive fashion but England weathered a storm to secure a first win over Italy on Italian soil for 62 years despite having Luke Shaw sent off.

Although there will be concern at how England lost their way in the second half, it proved the perfect response after the heartache of losing to France in the World Cup quarter-finals in December when Kane missed a crucial penalty.

This time he made no mistake after Giovanni Di Lorenzo was harshly penalised for handball in the 42nd minute, finding the corner to claim another scoring record.

England sank deeper and deeper as they appeared to run out of legs but Italy struggled to create clear chances and suffered a first Euro qualifying defeat in 41 games.

It was England's first competitive victory over Italy since 1977 and meant Gareth Southgate has racked up 50 wins as the national coach since taking the job in 2016.

Rooney, whose goals came in 120 games compared with the 81 it has taken Kane to move ahead of him, was quick to congratulate his former international team mate.

Rasmus Hojlund netted a superb hat-trick as Denmark beat Finland 3-1 at the Parken Stadium on Thursday and get their European Championship Group H qualifying campaign off to a winning start.

Already missing playmaker Christian Eriksen due to an ankle knock, the Danes lost defender Andreas Christensen to a leg injury in the 18th minute, but the home fans were celebrating three minutes later as Hojlund struck the opener.

Martin Braithwaite spread the ball down the right and into the path of fullback Alexander Bah, and his cross was met brilliantly by Hojlund, who deftly steered it home to give his side the lead.

Finland struck back eight minutes into the second half with a typically swift and decisive counterattack, Teemu Pukki latching on to a flick-on before teeing up Oliver Antman to score.

However, the 20-yer-old Hojlund bundled home a header from close range in the 82nd minute to put his side back in front and then rifled home a stoppage-time shot to complete his hat-trick in his third international appearance, wrapping up the three points for Denmark. Agencies

Also Read: Cristiano Ronaldo Sets New Record for Highest Number of International Appearances

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