Portugal rout Andorra 6-0 in World Cup qualifier

Madrid, Oct 8 (IANS) Cristiano Ronaldo led Portugal to a 6-0 demolition of Andorra in the second round of European football qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup here.

Ronaldo, whose last international appearance was in Portugal's victory over France in the 2016 Euro Cup final, scored twice in the first three minutes on Friday, reports Efe.

The Real Madrid superstar added a brace in the second half and Joao Cancelo and Andre Silva contributed a goal each to complete the rout.

In other matches, France fell behind 1-0 to visiting Bulgaria, conceding on a penalty by Mihail Aleksandrov, but led 3-1 by halftime thanks to goals by Kevin Gameiro, Dimitri Payet and Antoine Griezmann.

Gameiro, returning to the national side after five years, scored again in the second half to make it 4-1 for the hosts.

The Netherlands posted their first home win in six matches, beating Belarus 4-1. Quincy Promes scored two goals and Davy Klaassen and Vincent Janssen scored one each respectively.

Belgium, playing at home, thrashed Bosnia-Herzegovina 4-0, Estonia beat Gibraltar by the same score, and Greece topped Cyprus 2-0.

--IANS

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