European friendlies: Cristiano Ronaldo scores for Portugal in Andorra rout, Belgium, Germany win
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ByEurosport
Updated 11/11/2020 at 22:35 GMT
On a night filled with European friendlies, there were wins for Portugal, Belgium, Italy, Germany and Denmark, Croatia were held to a draw against Turkey. Netherlands and Spain also played out a draw with Donny Van de Beek getting on the scoresheet while France suffered a shock defeat to Finland for the first time in their history.
Cristiano Ronaldo
Image credit: Getty Images
Pedro Neto and Paulinho both scored on their Portugal debuts as the European champions unsurprisingly routed Andorra 7-0 in a friendly on Wednesday while Cristiano Ronaldo was also on target.
Ronaldo's goal left the 35-year-old only seven short of former Iran forward Ali Daei's all-time record of 109 international goals.
Michy Batshuayi scored twice in the second half as top-ranked Belgium came from behind to beat Switzerland 2-1, a confidence boosting win ahead of their crucial Nations League clash against England on Sunday.
Batshuayi took his tally to 13 goals in his last 13 international appearances with the double, which maintained Belgium’s four-year unbeaten run at home.
Vincenzo Grifo scored his first two international goals at the age of 27 to help a makeshift Italy side, missing coach Roberto Mancini due to a Covid-19 infection, to a 4-0 friendly win over Estonia.
Italy, who extended their unbeaten run to 20 games, had called up a 41-man squad for the match and Nations Leagues games against Poland and Bosnia, using the game to give a run-out to less experienced players.
A new-look Germany side earned a 1-0 victory over the Czech Republic but wasted a bagful of chances and failed to impress as they prepare to face Ukraine and Spain in the Nations League.
Debutants Jonas Wind and Alexander Bah came off the bench to score as Denmark beat Sweden 2-0 in Copenhagen with both sides fielding weakened teams due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
A makeshift Croatia side missing several regular starters held Turkey to a rollercoaster 3-3 draw in an entertaining game ahead of top-tier Nations League games against Sweden and Portugal.
Malta forward Michael Mifsud celebrated the end of his 20-year international career by scoring his 42nd goal for his country in a friendly against Liechtenstein.
The 39-year-old, who made his debut against Albania in 2000 and is Malta's all-time leading scorer, was on target in the fifth minute of his 143rd appearance as Malta cruised to a 3-0 win.
The Netherlands drew 1-1 at home to Spain after Donny van de Beek cancelled out an earlier strike from Sergio Canales.
France geared up for their upcoming Nations League games with a 2-0 home defeat against Finland as their 12-match unbeaten streak came to an abrupt end.
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