Porto: Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick to move past Pele on the list of all-time international goalscorers as Portugal beat Faeroe Islands 5-1 here Thursday to stay close to Switzerland at the top of Group B in World Cup European qualifying.
Ronaldo netted with a neat volley from inside the area then added two other goals to surpass the Brazil great and move into second place on the list of Europe’s all-time scorers with 78 goals. He’s six behind Hungary great Ferenc Puskas. Pele had scored 77 goals for Brazil.
The Real Madrid striker opened the scoring with a side-volley by the far post. He added his second by converting a penalty kick, and the third came after a neat fake shot that fooled a defender and left him open in front of the goal.
William Carvalho and Nelson Oliveira also scored for the defending European champions, who have won six straight matches since their opening loss at Switzerland.
Meanwhile Switzerland stayed perfect in qualifying by defeating Andorra 3-0 in a match interrupted by poor pitch conditions under heavy rain in St. Gallen. Haris Seferovic scored just before half time and again after the break, and Stephan Lichtsteiner added the final goal for the victory.
Hungary stayed a distant third with 10 points after defeating last-placed Latvia 3-1 at home. Tamas Kadar and Adam Szalai scored for Hungary in the first half and Balazs Dzsudzsak added the third after the break.
Agence France-Presse
