Ronaldo inspirational as Portugal beats Slovakia Monday June 06, 2005
Ronaldo Celebrates
Portugal convincingly beat rivals Slovakia 2-0 in a World Cup qualifier to take the lead of Group 3 thanks to a strong performance by midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo.
Stuttgart's defender Fernando Meira gave Portugal the lead in the 21st minute as he steered the ball home from close range following a pass from striker Pedro Pauleta from the centre of the pitch.
Ronaldo doubled the lead in the 41st minute with a strong right foot kick which soared from 25 metres into the corner of the net.
The 20-year-old Manchester United star nearly got another goal two minutes later with a shot that Slovakia goalkeeper Kamil Contofalsky barely managed to stop.
In the 12th minute of the second half Ronaldo cleared up the left side of the pitch and passed to Pauleta who narrowly missed scoring a third goal.
Luis Figo, who returned to the Portuguese squad after a short-lived retirement to become the squad's most capped player with 111 appearances, put in a strong performance, playing the full 90 minutes of the match.
The 32-year-old player had not played for Portugal since the squad's shock 1-0 loss against Greece in the Euro 2004 final on July 4 held at the same Lisbon stadium where the match against Slovakia was held Saturday.
Portugal now hold a three-point lead over Slovakia. The Portuguese squad now faces Estonia in Tallinn on Wednesday.
