Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo bagged a brace against Hungary in World Cup qualifying and cemented another impressive record in international football along the way
Cristiano Ronaldo broke yet another record in Portugal’s clash with Hungary, as he became the player with the most goals in World Cup qualifying. The 40-year-old notched his 41st goal as his side eye a spot in the United States next summer.
Ronaldo’s opening strike saw him break a tie with former Guatemala player Carlos Ruiz, after matching his record in September’s international break. The veteran forward helped his team come from a goal behind when he scored in the 22nd minute, claiming the landmark after failing to take the opportunity when he missed a penalty at the weekend.
And the Portugal legend was positioned perfectly to capitalise on Nuno Mendes’ cross to give Roberto Martinez‘s men the lead in first-half stoppage time. That effort also saw him extend his all-time international goalscoring record to 143 goals.
It proved not enough to claim three points, however, as Ronaldo was replaced in the second period and Liverpool star Dominik Szoboszlai netted a late equaliser. Portugal missed an opportunity to automatically qualify but still sit top of Group F with 10 points, five ahead of Hungary, and six ahead of the Republic of Ireland.
“We are getting closer to our goal! Let’s go, Portugal,” said Ronaldo on X following the game.
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Ronaldo’s 41 goals in qualifying puts him five ahead of Lionel Messi, who sits third, and nine ahead of Poland sharpshooter Robert Lewandowski. The superstar will hope his goals can fire Portugal to the World Cup and beyond.
The most sought-after trophy in the sport eludes Ronaldo and next summer’s tournament could be his final chance to claim it. Ronaldo, however, has previously suggested that lifting the European Championship with Portugal in 2016 was the same as winning a World Cup.
“Portugal winning a Euros is equivalent to a World Cup,” the 40-year-old declared. “I’ve already won two trophies for Portugal (the Nations League and Euros) that I really wanted.
“I’m not motivated by that. I’m motivated to enjoy football and records appear in a natural way. I don’t chase records, they’re the ones who chase me.”
Peter Crouch got an early impression of Ronaldo’s talents at the beginning of his career. Though, he didn’t stand out most.
“It’s an absolute privilege to have played against [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic, Ronaldinho, [Lionel] Messi, Ronaldo. I felt privileged to have been on the same pitch as them,” Crouch told Mirror Football.
“I played against Cristiano Ronaldo when he was kind of unknown, with the England Under-21s against Portugal Under-21s. [It was] him and Quaresma on the wing, and that was – because we didn’t know anything about them… we had J’Lloyd Samuel and Paul Konchesky as full-backs and I was saying ‘J, get tight, what’s the matter with you, you’re getting ripped!’ but little did we know it was Quaresma and Ronaldo.
“In all honesty I felt [Quaresma] was slightly better at that time, but what Ronaldo has gone on to achieve…” he added. “I remember Quaresma played a 60, 70 yard pass, Ronaldo was controlling it on his back and then just going at the full-back, and I thought ‘Who’s this guy?’.”
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