Cristiano Ronaldo struck two late goals – the first making him international football’s all-time leading scorer – to turn defeat into victory for Portugal. Elsewhere, Denmark made it four wins from four but France, Turkey and the Netherlands were all held.
UEFA.com wraps up the night’s action.
All Wednesday’s results
Group A: Luxembourg 2-1 Azerbaijan, Portugal 2-1 Republic of Ireland
Group D: Kazakhstan 2-2 Ukraine, France 1-1 Bosnia and Herzegovina
Group F: Denmark 2-0 Scotland, Faroe Islands 0-4 Israel, Moldova 0-2 Austria
Group G: Latvia 3-1 Gibraltar, Norway 1-1 Netherlands, Turkey 2-2 Montenegro
Group H: Malta 3-0 Cyprus, Russia 0-0 Croatia, Slovenia 1-1 Slovakia
Ronaldo’s glorious night
A dramatic late double from Ronaldo earned pace-setting Portugal three Group A points at the expense of the Republic of Ireland. The visitors had taken the lead through John Egan’s first-half header after teenage goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu had saved a Ronaldo penalty. But the 36-year-old wasn’t to be denied as his two headers turned the game late on. Those goals moved Ronaldo top of the all-time list of men’s international goalscorers with 111, on the same night he equalled Spain legend Sergio Ramos’ European record of 180 international caps.
Turkey let it slip
Risto Radunović’s sensational last-gasp free-kick rescued a draw for Montenegro after they had been two goals down and so denied Turkey a three-point lead in Group G. Cengiz Ünder’s spectacular solo run and strike and Yusuf Yazıcı’s close-range finish following a slick move had given the hosts the momentum until Adam Marušić slotted in close to half-time for third-placed Montenegro. With Norway and the Netherlands drawing, the top four are separated by just a single point.
Griezmann’s lucky break
Antoine Griezmann was credited with the goal that secured ten-man France a Group D point at home to Bosnia and Herzegovina. His effort cancelled out Edin Dzeko’s opener, but had more than a touch of fortune as Dzeko’s clearing header hit the France forward on the back and then took a further deflection on its way in, with VAR confirming the ball had crossed the line on its first night in use at all the matches.
Best of the rest
UEFA EURO 2020 semi-finalists Denmark made it four wins from four in Group F as they saw off Scotland and opened up a five-point cushion in their section. By contrast, all the teams in Group H are separated by just three points after draws in Russia and Slovenia, and a record victory in a competitive game for Malta.
All Thursday’s matches
Group B: Georgia vs Kosovo (18:00), Sweden vs Spain
Group C: Italy vs Bulgaria, Lithuania vs Northern Ireland
Group E: Czech Republic vs Belarus, Estonia vs Belgium
Group I: Andorra vs San Marino, Hungary vs England, Poland vs Albania
Group J: Iceland vs Romania, Liechtenstein vs Germany, North Macedonia vs Armenia
Kick-offs 20:45 CET unless stated
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