Portugal and Denmark registered wins against Liechtenstein and Finland respectively.
Portugal 4-0 Liechtenstein
The Portugal side has made its first step towards the European Championship in Germany convincingly. Denmark had a more difficult time in the Scandinavian derby against Finland. Only in the end could a second and third goal from super talent Rasmus Højlund decide the match in Danish favor.
Ronaldo’s leading role in party match
The first game under Roberto Martínez was a piece of cake for Portugal, which saw the evening marked by a world record broken by Cristiano Ronaldo. João Cancelo opened the scoring against Liechtenstein, although Ronaldo also claimed the goal after the ball touched his heel. Remarkably enough, it remained with that one goal in the first half.
Shortly after the break, Bernardo Silva ensured a safe margin with the 2-0, after which two goals followed, which without a doubt are credited to the man of the evening. A penalty kick and a free kick from Ronaldo made it 4-0.
Denmark 3-1 Finland
All eyes in Denmark were on Rasmus Højlund on Thursday. In his third international match for the national team, the attacker from Atalanta Bergamo scored a hat-trick. For example, the Danes against Finland started the European Championship qualifying series in an excellent way. Afterwards there was a lot of praise for the hat-trick hero.
Hat-trick hero Højlund worth gold for Danes
As a ‘new sheriff in town’, that’s how teammate Christian Nørgaard described the talented striker. “He is really present in the box and can easily score a goal,” says the Brentford midfielder. “He also takes charge. Rasmus is not just another young player. He participates in the team, is involved. That says a lot about his character. He looks older than he is.”
Right back Alexander Bah joked after the game that Højlund is already walking next to his shoes. “I don’t think I’ll be socializing with him much,” the defender told Tipsbladet. “We’ll have to see how we can bring him down, haha. No, Rasmus is an insanely good guy. He fully deserves this. He has the hunger that the really good strikers have.”
Danish media already loved the young striker. “What speed he has! Denmark’s new comet is physically much older than the 20 years stated in its passport. He played like a superstar and underlined that with three goals,” Ekstra Bladet wrote. “This was craftsmanship, in a class of its own. Højlund is the present and the future of the national team,” added Tipsbladet.
Højlund himself couldn’t believe his eyes after his dream match against Finland. The striker also explained why he depicted the letter L with his hand after a goal. “That was for my girlfriend, Laura, and a little boy named Loki that I promised. It was a beautiful moment. And I also got a few kisses from my girlfriend, so that was nice, haha,” he revealed.
