Ronaldo scored in the 24th and 63rd minutes in the Group A match, while Ricardo Carvalho added the other in the 30th.

Ronaldo got the ball from Deco and sent a powerful kick which went straight past Azerbaijan goalkeeper Farhad Veliev.

A minute later, a bicycle kick from the Manchester United winger appeared to have crossed the goal line but the referee said no.

Sergei Sokolov then got a yellow for tackling Deco, a move which earned Portugal a free kick. Ronaldo hit the ball, which Veliev initially stopped, but Carvalho got the rebound to score the second.

Azerbaijan attacked in the second half, but Ronaldo scored a third with a header off a pass from Simao Sabrosa. The Associated Press

/The International Herald Tribune/