September 09, (THEWILL) – Bruno Fernandes was the hero for Portugal on Friday night, scoring the only goal of the game as the Euro 2016 winners made it five wins from five in Euro 2024, qualifying with a 1-0 victory over Slovakia in Bratislava.
Despite being without veteran defender, Pepe, due to injury, Portugal continued their perfect defensive record in Group J. They have yet to concede a goal, while scoring 15 in their opening five matches. However, they were made to work hard for the three points by a stubborn Slovakia side looking for their first win over Portugal.
Cristiano Ronaldo, making his 201st appearance for Portugal at the age of 38, was unable to add to his record goal tally of 123 goals for his country. The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star had chances to score, but was denied by Slovakia goalkeeper, Martin Dubravka.
The deadlock was finally broken just before halftime when Fernandes drilled home from a tight angle despite Dubravka getting a hand to it. Ronaldo had two good opportunities to double Portugal’s advantage in the second half, but failed to hit the target on both occasions.
Portugal now have 15 points from their first five games and hold a five-point lead over Slovakia in second place. They can extend that advantage when they host Luxembourg on Monday, while Slovakia will look to bounce back at home to Liechtenstein.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
