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PARIS (AP) — England’s scoring form was on display again in European Championships qualifying on Tuesday. So was Cristiano Ronaldo’s.England made it four wins out of four in Group A with a 5-3 win over Kosovo and Ronaldo netted four goals in European champion Portugal’s 5-1 away win at Lithuania.On a night of heavy scoring , it took the five-time Golden Ball winner’s international tally to a whopping 93. Ronaldo might well hit the century mark before next year’s tournament, considering Portugal still faces Lithuania at home and twice plays lowly Luxembourg.“I’m going through a good phase, but the team has been playing well too,” Ronaldo said. “I’m enjoying this moment not only because of my goals, but also because of the team’s performances in recent years. I just have to keep helping the team.”Striker Harry Kane moved onto a more modest 26 for England, whose fans got a jolt when midfielder Valon Berisha put the visiting side ahead after just 35 seconds.They were soon reassured by Raheem Sterling’s equalizer and Kane’s latest goal for England, both inside the opening 20 minutes at St. Mary’s Stadium in Southampton on a rare occasion England wasn’t playing at Wembley Stadium.By halftime fans had been treated to five home goals, including 19-year-old winger Jadon Sancho scoring his first two for England.But the second half proved more inspiring for Kosovo’s fans as they witnessed a mini-comeback, with Berisha enjoying a memorable night with a fine second goal curled into the top corner. Kane could have netted a brace, too , but saw his penalty saved by Arijanet Muric.World Cup winner France labored at times against a well-organized Andorra side in a 3-0 home win, with Barcelona forward Antoine Griezmann missing a penalty for the second straight qualifier.After Kingsley Coman found a way through in the first half, center half Clément Lenglet and substitute Wissam Ben Yedder added goals after the break.DEFENSE IN QUESTIONEngland’s attack is purring with 19 goals in four games, but alarming questions will be asked of the defense.From a commanding position of 5-1 up, England leaked two goals after the break — one of those a penalty conceded by the expensively-acquired Manchester United center back Harry Maguire.Kosovo’s opening goal was the result of a careless pass from defender Michael Keane.England still hasn’t lost a qualifier for either the World Cup or European Championship in 10 years. But coach Gareth Southgate knows his defense has to eradicate such sloppy errors if his side wants to win Euro 2020.“The outstanding play was obvious,” Southgate said, “and the errors were obvious.”The Czech Republic overtook Kosovo to move into second place in Group A with nine points after a 3-0 win at Montenegro and hosts England on Oct. 11.RAMPAGING RONALDORonaldo scored from the penalty spot in the seventh minute, before Lithuania hit back through Vytautas Andriuskevicius’ header.Portugal’s second goal was given to Ronaldo before being changed to an own goal, and then given back to him on UEFA’s website. The bizarre-looking 62nd-minute effort was a low shot from outside the area. It was saved by Lithuania goalkeeper Ernestas Setkus, before the ball bounced off the goalkeeper’s back and went in.Three minutes later , Ronaldo tapped in from Bernardo Silva’s pass, and the attacking midfielder set him up again in the 76th.William Carvalho completed the scoring in stoppage time against last-place Lithuania.Portugal is second in Group B with eight points and five behind Ukraine, which has 13 points having played one game more.Powerful striker Aleksandar Mitrovic netted twice as third-place Serbia won 3-1 away to Luxembourg.PENALTY FLOPGriezmann remains stuck on 29 international goals after hitting his spot kick too close to goalkeeper Josep Gomes in a one-sided first half where France largely struggled to turn possession into chances.Coman pounced in the 18th after latching onto Jonathan Ikone’s pass behind the defense for his third goal in two France games.Griezmann’s curling free kick from the left was headed in by Clément Lenglet soon after the break.Substitute Wissam Ben Yedder added the third during injury time, steering the ball in from close range after Nabil Fekir’s free kick was spilled by Gomes.Turkey and France top Group H with 15 points and meet at Stade de France on Oct. 14.Striker Cenk Tosun netted twice in Turkey’s 4-0 win at Moldova.Third-place Iceland slipped three points behind the top two after losing 4-2 away to Albania.Andorra has scored no goals and conceded 14 in six defeats. PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Cristhian Paredes got a yellow card in the 16th minute and knew he had to play the remainder with caution.That might have been the approach he needed to have a breakthrough performance.Paredes scored two goals, the second coming on a volley to the upper-left corner in the 81st minute, leading the Portland Timbers to a 4-0 victory over the LA Galaxy on Saturday night.Article continues below ...The game was filled with cards both during the match and after the final whistle.Paredes’ third and fourth goals of the season helped the Timbers move into seventh place in the MLS Western Conference.“You try and be smart about it,” Paredes said of his early yellow card, through a translator. “Once you have a yellow card you have to come down and play more responsibly and measure yourself.“It’s going to help me a great deal in terms of my trust” going forward.Portland’s first two goals came in a four-minute span late in the first half. Diego Valeri scored on a breakaway after Paredes’ 37th minute header off of a cross by Jorge Moreira.The Galaxy created ample scoring chances, including five shots from star forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic , but they could not convert.Moments after the first goal, Ibrahimovic got behind the defense and was left one-on-one with goalkeeper Steve Clark.Clark deflected the shot wide, and Portland was quick to capitalize.Sebastian Blanco found Valeri just beyond midfield, and Valeri took the ball the remainder of the field, cut the ball through the legs of Galaxy defender Daniel Steres and slotted a shot in the lower right corner to push the Timbers lead to 2-0 in the 41st minute. It was Valeri’s sixth goal of the season.Ibrahimovic played a cross on the ground to Antuna directly in front of the goal in the 75th minute, but Clark made a diving save to block his first-time shot.Portland forward Jeremy Ebobisse scored the team’s fourth goal — a header from Jorge Villafana — in the 88th minute. The final goal came four minutes after LA’s Efrain Alvarez was given a red card for violent conduct.“In the second half … we gave a lot of possibilities to them to get the third and fourth goal,” Galaxy coach Guillermo Barros Schelotto said.Ibrahimovic has scored 16 goals this season, including all three of his team’s goals in the Galaxy’s last regular season game, a 3-2 win over Western Conference leader LAFC.Clark finished with six saves, including a diving block on a cross from Ibrahimovic to a wide open Antuna in the 75th minute , which stopped a chance for LA to cut the lead to one goal.“He made at least three world class saves,” Ebobisse said. “Could have made the ending of that game a lot more nerving than it was. Credit to him. Credit to the back line for shutting down (Ibrahimovic). They didn’t really give him much of a sniff.”Added Portland coach Gio Saverese: “In the moments where they found space, (Clark) came up big.”Paredes’ yellow card was the first of nine cards handed out, including three red cards. Alvarez was ejected in the 84th minute and LA’s Diego Polenta and Portland’s Dairon Asprilla were given red cards for a scuffle after the whistle.For the Timbers, it was the first win without center midfielder Diego Chara in the starting lineup since 2015.Portland (9-8-4) is unbeaten in its last six regular-season games. With the loss, the Galaxy (12-9-1) dropped one spot to third in the West.
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