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Fans want Bruno Fernandes to take over the baton from Cristiano Ronaldo after leading Portugal to a thumping 9-0 win over Luxembourg in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers on Monday (September 11).
Roberto Martinez's men ran riot against the hapless visitors at the Estadio Algarve in Almancil without the suspended Ronaldo. Goncalo Inacio opened the floodgates in the 12th minute before his namesake, Goncalo Ramos, added two more inside 34 minutes. Inacio scored again deep in the first-half injury time as the Selecao led 4-0 at the break.
There was more carnage in the second half. Diogo Jota scored a 20-minute brace (57th and 77th minute), while Ricardo Horta (67'), Bruno Fernandes (83') and Joao Felix (88') also got into the scoresheet.
Fans went gaga for Fernandes, who scored and bagged a hat-trick of assists (both Inacio's goals and Jota's first), in the rout. One fan hailed him as the new king, while urging Ronaldo to step aside:
"I don’t want to hear anybody talk about Ronaldo carrying Portugal again. Bruno fernandes is the new king."
Another wrote:
"If Ronaldo has any iota of shame he will retire from Portugal’s national team after this match and pass the baton to Bruno Fernandes. If he needed any clarity regarding his position in the national team he should have gotten it today — the boys are much better off without him."
Here are the top reactions on X, formerly known as Twitter:
With their biggest win in international football — achieved without their record goalscorer — Portugal extended their perfect start to six games in Group J. They have scored 24 times without conceding once.
The Selecao are now five points clear of second-placed Slovakia (13), who lost to Portugal 1-0 on matchday 5 last week. Roberto Martinez's men will book their place at next year's finals in Germany with three games to go, if they beat Slovakia at home on October 13 and Luxembourg do not win at Iceland.
How has Cristiano Ronaldo fared for Portugal since the 2022 FIFA World Cup?
Cristiano Ronaldo endured a miserable 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign in Qatar, scoring just once in five games, as Portugal lost to Morocco in the quarterfinals.
Since then, Roberto Martinez has taken charge, and the 38-year-old Ronaldo has enjoyed a fresh lease of life, scoring five times in as many UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers.
The Al-Nassr forward kicked off the Martinez era with a brace in the Selecao's 4-0 home win over Liechtenstein. Three days later, he starred with another brace in the 6-0 win at Luxembourg.
Cristiano Ronaldo drew a blank in the 3-0 home win over Bosnia and Herzegovina before marking his 200th interntional game with the only goal of the game in the 1-0 win at Iceland.
Ronaldo received a yellow card in the 1-0 win at Slovakia last week, which ruled him out of the Luxembourg rout.
