Portugal overcomes Ronaldo’s absence, beats Azerbaijan 3-0

BAKU, Azerbaijan (AP) — Portugal has overcome the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo to comfortably defeat Azerbaijan 3-0 and take the lead in its World Cup qualifying group. Bernardo Silva, André Silva and Diogo Jota scored a goal each for visiting Portugal. The Portuguese have a two-point lead over Serbia in Group A. The Serbians conceded a late goal in a 1-1 draw at Ireland. Ronaldo was serving a suspension for accumulation of yellow cards. He was released from the squad after netting his 110th and 111th goals in Portugal’s 2-1 win over Ireland last week to become the men’s all-time top scorer in international soccer.