Latvia 0 Portugal 3: Cristiano Ronaldo scores twice as Portugal defeat Latvia to keep up the pressure on Switzerland at the top of World Cup Qualifying Group B
The Real Madrid man is now the third-highest scoring European in the international goal-scoring charts with 73
CRISTIANO RONALDO showed no signs of let-up in his fantastic season by scoring twice for Portugal in their 3-0 World Cup Qualifying win against Latvia.
Less than a week since he also scored a brace to help Real Madrid win the Champions League at the expense of Juventus, the 32-year-old was at it again.
He has now scored the third-highest amount of international goals by a European player, 73, after overtaking German legend Miroslav Klose.
He is only two behind Sandor Kocsis and 11 off top marksman Ferenc Puskas, both for the Hungarian national team.
Ronaldo took his tally in the World Cup qualifiers to 11, to help Portugal claim a somewhat flattering but important 3-0 win away to Latvia.
Portugal's fifth successive win in Group B left them with 15 points from six games but still three behind leaders Switzerland who beat Faroe Islands 2-0 to maintain their 100 percent record.
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Ronaldo, Portugal's all-time leading scorer, took his tally to 73 goals for his country after another decisive performance.
He looked their only real threat in the first half and scored four minutes before half-time when he stooped to head in from close range after Jose Fonte's header hit the post.
The Real Madrid man scored with another easy header in the 63rd after Ricardo Quaresma's cross was deflected into his path.
Then he played a one-two with Andre Silva who scored the third four minutes later.
The group looks increasingly like it will boil down to the final match between Portugal and Switzerland in October which the European champions must win to top the standings, qualify directly and avoid a perilous two-leg playoff.