World Cup Qualifiers: Cristiano Ronaldo scores twice as Portugal beat Latvia
Monday 14 November 2016 10:53, UK
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice and missed a penalty as Portugal left it late to beat Latvia 4-1 in World Cup qualifying Group B on Sunday.
The Euro 2016 winners took the lead through Ronaldo from the penalty spot at the Estadio Algarve but after the Real Madrid star fired a second penalty against the post, Arturs Zjuzins equalised for Latvia.
With the clock ticking down, William Carvalho restored their lead before Ronaldo made up for his penalty miss to make it 3-1. Bruno Alves netted a late fourth to keep the pressure on Switzerland at the top of Group B.
Eren Derdiyok and Stephan Lichtsteiner netted as the Swiss maintained their 100 per cent start to World Cup qualifying courtesy of a 2-0 victory over the Faroe Islands in Lucerne.
Hungary are third in the group after recording a comfortable 4-0 win over Andorra in Budapest.
Giorgos Tzavelas crashed home a 25-yard equaliser in the fifth minute of added time to earn Greece a 1-1 draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina in a match in Piraeus which saw both teams finish with 10 men.
The point maintained Greece's unbeaten start to World Cup qualifying Group H and kept them three points ahead of their opponents, although they slipped two points behind pool leaders Belgium, who won 8-1 against Estonia.
Cyprus were given a scare but scored two second-half goals on the way to their 3-1 victory over 10-man Gibraltar in their clash in Nicosia.
Memphis Depay scored two second-half goals to spare the Netherlands' blushes in a 3-1 Group A win in Luxembourg.
Manchester United winger Depay struck in the 58th and 84th minutes at the Stade Josy Barthel after replacing Wesley Sneijder at the interval to lift Holland above Sweden into second place in Group A.
It was a far from convincing display by Danny Blind's side, who opened the scoring after 36 minutes through Arjen Robben, only to be pegged back by Luxembourg just before the break when defender Maxine Chanot converted a penalty.
Ivelin Popov scored the only goal as Bulgaria clinched a 1-0 win against 10-man Belarus in their clash in Sofia, which keeps them just one point behind Netherlands in the table.
Spartak Moscow forward Popov's early header at the Vasil Levski National Stadium proved decisive and secured Bulgaria's first victory under coach Petar Hubchev following heavy earlier defeats to Group A rivals France and Sweden.
