João Simões stars! Portugal beat Azerbaijan, Sporting man with stunner | OneFootball

Portugal beat Azerbaijan 4-0 in the sixth matchday of Group B qualifying for the 2027 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. In Baku, João Simões and Youssef Chermiti started, and both got on the scoresheet for Luís Freire’s side.

The first half was marked by Portuguese dominance, with several scoring chances and even a goal disallowed for Youssef Chermiti for offside in the 15th minute.

In the second half, the story was different, with Portugal opening the scoring in the 51st minute. Daniel Banjaqui crossed from the right, Tiago Parente flicked it on at the far post, and Gonçalo Moreira, inside the six-yard box, headed the ball into the back of the net. The second goal came just two minutes later, also with a header, this time from Tiago Parente.

In the 66th minute, Youssef Chermiti - who recently scored with a bicycle kick - made his mark. The former Sporting striker appeared at the near post to head the ball into the Azerbaijani net from a well-taken corner by Roger Fernandes. The 21-year-old scored his 11th goal of the season.

However, João Simões also shone with a stunning goal. The midfielder curled a shot into the top right corner of the opposition goal, with another assist from Roger. With this win, Portugal strengthened their lead at the top of Group B with 16 points.

Watch the goal:

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.