Nuno Tavares scored his first goal for the Portugal u21s to give them an early lead in what turned out to be a record-breaking thrashing of Liechtenstein.

Arsenal summer signing Nuno Tavares made his second consecutive competitive appearance for the Portugal u21s on Thursday, starting for the side against Liechtenstein. Within five minutes, he’d already given them the lead.

Finding space on the left of the box, Tavares didn’t pass up the opportunity to shoot. He fired an effort at the near post and flashed it past the goalkeeper before he had time to react.

Portugal were in merciless form on the day, and by the time Tavares was directly involved in another goal in the 44th minute, they were already 8-0 up.

Tavares then set up a ninth just before half-time with a deep cross onto the head of Tiago Tomas.

Rui Jorge’s side seemed to ease up after the break, but Tavares still managed to provide another assist for an 11th goal in the 76th minute.

Tavares played a long cross-field pass to Francisco Conceicao, who admittedly did most of the work himself, beating two players and poking home a near-post finish.

The 11-0 final result was a record for the Portugal u21s, and it sets them up well in the group. Funnily enough, they only have the joint-best goal difference as things stand. Cyprus beat Liechtenstein 6-0 twice, and both teams are on +12.

You can watch the goals below or here. Tavares’ goal is at the start of the video, his first assist is at 2:20 and the second is at 2:42.

Tavares said afterwards: “We tried to be as serious as possible and that’s what happened. We were conscious and competitive and that’s the most important thing.

“Each time we train together, we feel confident with each other and this can be seen on the field.

“It’s a new record. We are always looking for more and more.”