Euro 2012: Portugal thrash Bosnia-Hercegovina to seal finals spot
- Published
Ronaldo scored the opening goal after just eight minutes
Portugal secured their place at Euro 2012 with an emphatic 6-2 second leg victory over Bosnia-Hercegovina.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Helder Postiga both scored twice while Bosnia's Senad Lulic was sent off as Portugal reached the finals in Poland and Ukraine.
Czech Republic midfielder Petr Jiracek scored a late goal in Montenegro as they went through 3-0 on aggregate.
Croatia also qualified with a goalless draw against Turkey after their 3-0 first-leg win in Istanbul.
The Republic of Ireland went through thanks to a comfortable to win 5-1 on aggregate.
After a 0-0 draw in Zenica last week, Portugal were quick off the mark when Ronaldo put them ahead in the eighth minute with a dipping free-kick from nearly 40 yards.
Nani made it 2-0 with a thunderous strike from long distance before Bosnia-Hercegovina pulled a goal back before the break with a Zvjezdan Misimovic penalty.
But the visitors' chances suffered a huge blow in the space of a minute in the second half. Ronaldo added a third moments before Lulic was sent off for dissent.
Emir Spahic scored against the run of play to give the visitors hope but any comeback was over as Postiga scored twice and Miguel Veloso added another in the space of 10 minutes.
The Czechs survived a second-half onslaught from Montenegro to qualify for their fifth-straight European Championships.
Cheered by a raucous crowd hoping for a repeat of the which clinched a place in the play-offs, Montenegro piled forward in search of a goal.
Dejan Damjanovic rattled the bar in the 50th minute after good work from Mirko Vucinic, who then headed over from close range before forcing fine saves from Petr Cech, wearing a mask to protect his broken nose.
Jiracek then stole the win for the visitors when he dummied three Montenegro defenders and fired low under Mladen Bozovic.
It was a much more comfortable night in a freezing Zagreb for Croatia, who opted for a safety-first approach as they held on to their 3-0 lead from the first leg.
Guus Hiddink's Turkey tried for an early breakthrough to put the pressure on the hosts and almost got it when Umut Bulut hit the post and Colin Kazim Richards's follow-up was saved.
But it was a rare glimpse of goal as Croatia stroked the ball around despite rarely threatening Sinan Bolat's goal.