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Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the Uefa Euro 2020 win over Hungary. Photo: EPA

Euro 2020: Cristiano Ronaldo breaks goal record, France edge Germany

  • Reigning champions leave it late in Budapest where Juventus striker scores twice to become all-time European Championship goal-scorer
  • Paul Pogba stars in Munich as last two World Cup winners meet but game is decided by Mats Hummels own goal
Euro 2020
Cristiano Ronaldo became the all-time top European Championship goal-scorer with a brace as reigning champions Portugal got their Uefa Euro 2020 campaign off to a winning start on Tuesday, beating Hungary 3-0 in Budapest before world champions France faced Germany in a heavyweight clash.

Ronaldo netted his 10th and 11th goals at European Championship to surpass the previous record of nine held by France legend Michel Platini.

The holders, who appear to have a much stronger squad than when they won their first major title five years ago, laboured for long periods in Budapest.

But Raphael Guerreiro made the breakthrough in the 84th minute and Ronaldo slammed in a penalty shortly afterwards before tapping home in injury time.

The 36-year-old has now scored at five different European Championship finals tournaments and has 106 goals for his country, leaving him just three goals away from matching Iranian Ali Daei’s all-time international scoring record of 109.

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“I am really grateful to the team for helping me to score twice and be named man of the match,” Ronaldo said.

He broke the record before by far the biggest crowd of the tournament so far, with Budapest the only Euro 2020 venue not to limit fan capacity due to Covid-19.

The Puskas Arena has a capacity of almost 68,000 fans.

“We didn’t deserve a 3-0 defeat, with a bit of luck it could have been a point each, but it was an experience of a lifetime,” said Hungary goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi.

A Mats Hummels own goal was enough to hand France a 1-0 victory over Germany in the later game as the world champions made a winning start to their Euro 2020 campaign by dominating in Munich, where Paul Pogba was the star of the match.

Hummels turned the ball into his own net in the 20th minute, which ultimately decided the contest.

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France deserved the win, with both Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema having second-half goals ruled offside, while Adrien Rabiot also hit the post for Les Bleus.

The result leaves France second on goal difference in the early group F table behind Portugal, after the holders’ 3-0 win over Hungary earlier in Budapest.

The home defeat piles the pressure on Germany ahead of their next game against Portugal on Saturday, also at the Allianz Arena.

 

German head coach Joachim Loew, who will stand down after the European Championship, is desperate to avoid a repeat of the 2018 World Cup when Die Mannschaft suffered the humiliation of finishing bottom of their group.

It was a heartbreaking night for Hummels, back to boost the German defence after a two-year exile from international football.

Seven years ago, it was Hummels’ headed goal which knocked France out of the 2014 World Cup in the quarter-finals as Germany went on to win the title in Brazil.

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Meanwhile, Christian Eriksen continued his recovery following his collapse in Denmark’s opening game against Finland last Saturday.

On Tuesday, Inter Milan midfielder Eriksen published a photo of his tired but smiling face from his hospital bed.

“I’m fine – under the circumstances, I still have to go through some examinations at the hospital, but I feel okay,” he wrote in a post on Instagram accompanying a photo of him smiling and giving a thumbs-up while lying in bed.

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Instagram was also the place where Austria’s Marko Arnautovic penned his apology after insulting North Macedonia players in Sunday’s victory, but despite his mea culpa Uefa has opened disciplinary proceedings into his behaviour in Bucharest.

Wednesday will see the first of the second round of group games, with Russia hosting Finland in Saint Petersburg before Turkey take on Wales in Baku and Italy face Switzerland in Rome.

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