Cristiano Ronaldo scored his fifth international hat-trick as Portugal flew to a 5-1 victory over the Faroe Islands on Thursday to stay second in 2018 World Cup qualifying Group B.William Carvalho and substitute Nelson Oliveira each scored to complement Ronaldo's match-winning performance, which saw him move ahead of Pele, one of world football's all-time legends:Ronaldo opened the scoring with a sublime scissor-kick before adding a second from the penalty spot, although Rogvi Baldvinsson gave Portugal a scare when he halved the deficit with a close-range volley.Group B leaders Switzerland were on course to beat Andorraandmaintain a three-point cushion at the head of the pool, with much anticipation building toward their clash against second-placed Portugal on October 10.As if the Faroe Islands weren't already aware of the task ahead of them, their challenge became all the more difficult after they leaked an early opener thanks to a piece of signature Ronaldo brilliance.Manchester City winger Bernardo Silva squirmed his way to the goal line near the right corner before pulling a cross back into the box, and the visitors were helpless but to watch Ronaldo's acrobatic scissor-kick knock them back.Ronaldo, who is currently serving a domestic suspension at Real Madrid following the red card he picked up during the Spanish Super Cup, continued his fine run of scoring form with the opener, per ESPN Stats & Info:Faroe Islands midfielder Roaldur Jakobsen handed the hosts their chance at a second when he rushed into a tackle attempt inside his own area and was adjudged to have fouled his target in the process, and rightly so.Ronaldo again stepped up to convert from 12 yards and sent his shot in the right of the opposition goal to put himself on a hat-trick within half an hour.But it wasn't long before the Faroe Islands cut the deficit and found their route into the fixture thanks to some superb opportunism from Baldvinsson in the Portuguese box.Full-back Jonas Tor Naes sent in a long throw-in from the right, and Baldvinsson was on hand to smash home a neat volley after Portugal centre-back Jose Fonte got a flick on close to goal. Portuguese football writer Jan Hagen highlighted the sense of competition that strike brought back to the game heading in at the break:AC Milan striker Andre Silva saw the best of Portugal's scoring chances after the restart and came close to netting on several occasions before midfield team-mate Carvalho showed him up by grabbing the home side's third.The Sporting Lisbon anchor showed good enthusiasm to get forward and was on hand to nod in a Ronaldo cut-back with relative ease after 58 minutes.Just as was the case in the first half, Portugal hit their guests again in quick succession, and it was again Ronaldo who illustrated the gulf between him and his opponents with a jinking run in front of goal.A few dummies and pivots in the box saw Real's star man open up space to side-foot in a cool finish, and while it may have marked just his fifth treble for Portugal, Sky Sports Statto noted his remarkable career hat-trick tally:Norwich City striker Nelson Oliveira came on late and almost immediately sent his message to manager Fernando Santos, tapping in an easy finish following some clumsy defensive work from the Faroe Islands.Another Portuguese win and another result in which Ronaldo proved himself still critical to their cause, grabbing a hat-trick and assisting both his side's other goals to show any club woes won't affect international form.Read more World Football news on BleacherReport.com
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