International Break Recap: Portugal 5 - 1 Faroe Islands (WCQ 2017)

It’s no surprise that a Portugal squad led by Cristiano Ronaldo would beat a very weak Faroe Island side. Sad to say, but in fairness, it’s the truth.

It would take just three minutes for Portugal to get on the board as Bernardo Silva would float a cross into the back post where Ronaldo was laying in wait to hit a jumping side volley. From there, Portugal was still pressing on and keeping the Faroe Islands pinned in their own half.

In the 28th minute, Jao Mario would be brought down in the box by a Faroe Islands defender, giving Portugal a penalty. Ronaldo would step up to the ball deftly — putting it in the top right corner to give his side the 2 - 0 lead. Ten minutes later the Faroe Islands would get on the board with blown marking in the box by Portugal from a long throw in.

There was no explanation to this goal. One minute it’s out for a throw, the next the Faroe Islands get one back. And that’s how the half would come to an end, with the score in favour of the home side 2-1.

On the restart it would be more of the same — Portugal pinning Faroe Islands in their own end with little chance of conceding chances. In the 53rd minute Portugal had a chance to lengthen their lead with a Ronaldo pass across the mouth of goal, only to have Andre Silva miss-hit the ball, forcing it to go wide of the goal.

Five minutes later Cristiano Ronaldo would put a cross into the box (something they had been doing all night) that would find the top of William Carvalho’s head and into the back of the net — all but sealing the victory.

But wait... There’s more!

William Carvalho put in a nice through-pass into the box for Cristiano and that would seal his 48th (through all competitions) hat-trick in the 64th minute. If William’s earlier header was a stab to the heart, then Ronaldo’s goal was the finishing blow.

Portugal would grab another goal in the 84th minute by Nélson Oliveira. The goal would go down as unassisted but it was Ronaldo’s pass that was deflected by a Faroe Islands’ defender straight into the path of Oliveira.

That’s how it would end, Portugal 5 - 1 Faroe Islands.

Cristiano Ronaldo

What a night for CR7. It’s his world and we’re just living in it. He broke and set records tonight and generally showed why he's the best footballer in the world. He would start the match up front in a 4-4-2, partnering with Andre Silva. They had a plan — run the offense through Ronaldo, stretch the Faroe Islands out, get body’s in the box, and cross like there was no tomorrow.

And it worked.

Here’s what he accomplished tonight:

• 78 international goals making him the leading scorer all-time, passing Pele to get there.
• 14 goals in his last six matches — that’s a record.
• Passed Shevchenko as UEFA top goal scorer in World Cup Qualifying.
• 48th All-Time in hat-tricks across all competitions.

The Faroe Islands had no answer for him. Far away the man of the match for me and anyone else that was even half paying attention.

Just look at these goals.

Player Rating: 10.0

It wasn’t that hard for me tonight to give Ronaldo a 10.0 — it was his game, his team. Now, I know that it’s only the Faroe Islands, but still, you’ve got to respect Ronaldo’s game. He’s 32 and keeps lighting the world on fire. I hope he keeps up this run of form so that when he returns to the Real Madrid starting XI, he’ll hit the ground running.

Portugal will travel to Budapest next to take on the Hungarian national team. The match is on this Sunday, September, 3rd.