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FARO, Portugal (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat trick as Portugal cruised to a 6-0 win over Lithuania to move closer to a 2020 European Championship spot on Thursday.
Pizzi Fernandes, Gonçalo Paciência and Bernardo Silva also scored for the defending European champions, who can qualify with a win in its final Group B match on Sunday at Luxembourg.
The rout against last-place Lithuania gave Portugal 14 points, five fewer than group leader Ukraine — which has already qualified — and one point more than third-place Serbia, which beat Luxembourg 3-2.
Ronaldo reached 98 career goals with Portugal after converting a penalty kick in the seventh minute, hitting the top corner with a curling shot from outside the area in the 22nd, and finding the net from close range in the 65th.