Cristiano Ronaldo refused to be the disputed time winner after his captain’s armband was angrily thrown to the ground as Portugal gained a two-goal lead against Serbia in the World Cup on Saturday, while Romelu Lukaku’s 59th international goal Held Belgium to a 1–1 draw. With the Czech Republic. The Netherlands supported that performance with a stunning 3–0 win against Turkey following their Group G defeat to Latvia 2–0. Portugal drew 2–2 at Belgrade, believing Ronaldo to be the winner in the third minute of stoppage when the ball appeared to cross the goal before Stefan Mitrovic was cleared.
But without the technology in use, Target was not honored and Ronaldo was booked for his opposition.
At the final whistle he went off the pitch angrily, throwing his captain’s armband to the ground.
Ronaldo later posted on his Instagram page, “I always give everything for my country and will never change.”
“But there are difficult times to deal with it, especially when we feel that the whole country is at a disadvantage.”
Portugal coach Fernando Santos told RTP, “We scored a goal that was not given when the ball went in. In a match of this level, it is not possible.”
Portugal were cruising by three points in Belgrade when Liverpool striker Diogo Jota went 2–0 through the first half double.
But Nemanja Radonjic’s half-time proved to be an important introduction to Serbia to set up Hisander Mitrovich and Philip Kistic in the first 15 minutes of the second time.
Belgium, ranked number one in the world, sit behind the Czech Republic on goal difference in the opening Group E standings.
Lucas Provod led the Czechs after scoring their first international goal with a great long-wide strike after half-time in Prague.
Ten minutes later, Lukaku collected a pass from Kevin de Bruyn, turned his marker and drilled the ball under goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik for his 19th goal in his final 16 matches for Belgium.
Luxembourg Stunner
The guys from Roberto Martinez took a lead of about 14 minutes from time, but after De Bruyne was hit by Lukaku, the Manchester City midfielder hit a low shot against the post.
“If you look at the results of the Czech Republic in the last months, we knew it was going to be a tough game,” Belgian captain Jan Vertenghen told VTM. “They created good chances, winning almost every other ball. But at home we are strong.”
In the second Group A game, Luxembourg won 1–0 over a deprived Republic of Ireland in Dublin.
Ireland were toothless in the attack and the visitors paid them in the 85th minute with the winner of Dynamo Kyiv forward Gerson Rodrigues.
This was Luxembourg’s sixth win in World Cup qualifying since their first participation in 1934.
Frank de Boer Netherlands allowed 5,000 fans a few at the Johann Cruyff Arena in Amsterdam as Steven Bergsund’s 32nd-minute curling effort and Luke de Jong’s second-half header saw Latvia.
“We know the goal difference will be significant in these qualifiers,” de Boer, who also saw De Jong and Davy Classen, hit the woodwork in the first World Cup qualifier to be refereed by a woman – France’s Stephanie Frappart.
Human rights protest
“We were entitled to win by at least five goals. We tried everything.”
Players from the Netherlands followed Norway and Germany by staging protests in support of human rights in Qatar, where the 2022 World Cup final will take place.
Fenerbahce midfielder Ozan Tufan scored twice, as Turkey gave Norway a dangerous beat.
Leicester center-back Cagler Soyuncu also enjoyed a fine performance as he scored the second goal and helped keep Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Brut Heland calm.
“Last year we qualified for Euro 2020 and now we are fighting for a spot in the World Cup,” Soyuneku told uefa.com. “We want to be there.”
Russia, who reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup on home soil three years ago, topped the opening Group H table with a 2–1 win over Slovenia, which made their campaign debut by defeating 2018 runners-up Croatia.
Promoted
Croatia again struggled to find their best form, but five minutes before the break Mario Pacalik’s header put Zelato Dalić’s men behind Cyprus 1-0 in Rijeka.
Slovakia are already struggling in their bid to qualify, being held after a 2–2 draw.
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