When Portugal kicked off the qualifying game for the World Championship, the stadium in Yerevan, Armenia, offered strong emotions.
It was Portugal's first match since Diogo Jota's tragic passing and before the kick-off, he was honored with a minute of silence.
When the match finally got underway, Joao Felix made it 1–0 directly. Then, 40-year-old Ronaldo increased the Portuguese lead to 2–0 after 20 minutes of play when he pushed in a pass from Pedro Neto.
Joao Cancelo then bombed in 3–0 before the break.
The second half had barely begun before Ronaldo found the net again. From a distance, the superstar pulled and outsmarted Armenia's goalkeeper.
It was Cristiano Ronaldo's 140th national team goal and the striker celebrated the full hit with his well-known, patented goal gesture, whereupon the audience responded with both boos and firecrackers from the stands.
Portugal eventually won 5–0 and got the best possible start to the qualifying game.
Elsewhere, England took a planned home win against Andorra. The final result was written to 2–0 after an own goal and a full hit by Arsenal's midfield engine Declan Rice.
England tops its qualifying group after four played matches with a maximum of 12 points.
The Englishmen's qualifying game started before, for example, Portugal's and Sweden's, as the group contains more teams and more matches.
