(Football news) Five time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 58th career hat-trick as Portugal defeated Luxembourg 5-0 in the Group A World Cup Qualification clash. The 36 year old scored two penalties in the opening 13 minutes and a late header as teammates Bruno Fernandes and Palhinha also found the target.
Ronaldo has scored a total of nine goals against Luxembourg, the most he has scored against any nation in what looks like his favourite hunting ground at the international stage. With this result, the Seleção das Quinas are second in Group A, one point behind leaders Serbia who have played a game more and defeated Azerbaijan 3-1 in Belgrade.
Denmark became the second team after Germany to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar after defeating Austria 1-0. The Danes have been extremely impressive throughout the qualification campaign, winning all seven matches and are yet to concede a goal. A 53rd minute goal at Parken Stadium by Joakim Maehle was enough to secure a berth in Qatar as Kasper Hjulmand’s side now find themselves seven points ahead of second place Scotland.
Meanwhile at the Wembley Stadium, a below par England were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw against Hungary. A high boot challenge by Luke Shaw gave Hungary a penalty which was duly converted by Roland Sallai in the 24th minute. John Stones equalized for the Three Lions in the 37th minute with a back post finish to keep the hosts in the game. Gareth Southgate’s men failed to break the deadlock despite dominating most of the second half as Raheem Sterling hit the post. The game saw clashes between the Hungarian supporters and the police and an arrest was made for racially aggravated public order offense due to the comments made towards a steward. With this result, England will need to defeat Albania on November 12th to secure automatic qualification at the 2022 World Cup before their final game against San Marino.
