BRATISLAVA - Portugal's Bruno Fernandes scored in the first half to earn a 1-0 away win over Slovakia in their Euro 2024 qualifier on Friday as it moved five points clear of its opponents atop Group J and maintained its perfect record after five games.

Fernandes' low strike two minutes from halftime beat Martin Dubravka inside his far post as the midfielder marked his 29th birthday with his third goal in the Euro 2024 qualifiers

Fernandes' low strike two minutes from halftime beat Martin Dubravka inside his far post as the midfielder marked his 29th birthday with his third goal in the Euro 2024 qualifiers.

Portugal had made a faltering start against Slovakia, who had two good chances inside the opening 15 minutes through forward Robert Polievka and winger Lukas Haraslin.

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Haraslin was once more inches away from opening the scoring as the game neared the end of first half when his curled shot from the edge of the box narrowly missed the right post.

But after Fernandes gave Portugal the lead, coach Roberto Martinez's side looked more like their usual selves in the second half, dominating possession and looking to extend its lead while Slovakia did well to keep the deficit to one goal.

Portugal, who host Luxembourg on Monday, has 15 points followed by Slovakia, who has 10 along with third-placed Luxembourg after it beat Iceland 3-1. Slovakia is bidding to qualify for its third consecutive European finals.

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The two teams meet again on Oct 13 in Porto.