Lisbon, March 30 (BUS): From applauding to smiling to singing, Cristiano Ronaldo took a few moments to celebrate with his Portugal teammates after qualifying for what will be his record-breaking fifth World Cup.
The top scorer in men’s international football has never won the sport’s biggest award, but will get another chance this year in Qatar, the Associated Press reports.
“The years pass, but the goals remain the same,” Ronaldo wrote on his Instagram account on Wednesday.
Four other players have reached the World Cup five times – Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon from 1998-2014, Mexico defender Rafael Marquez from 2002 to 2018, Germany midfielder Lothar Matthaus from 1982 to 98, and Mexico goalkeeper Antonio Carvajal from 1950-1966. Buffon was in the Italy squad in 1998 but did not play in the tournament.
Other players who have a chance to join Ronaldo by playing in Qatar include Argentine Lionel Messi, Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, and Mexico midfielder Andres Guardado, who have also participated in four World Cup finals. Spain defender Sergio Ramos has also participated in four World Cup finals, but Luis Enrique has not called him up recently.
Ronaldo will play for his 10th consecutive major tournament in a series that began at Euro 2004 and includes four World Cups and four other European Championships, a competition he helped Portugal win in 2016.
Ronaldo is the only player to score at least once in nine consecutive major tournaments, and he will be able to extend several of his international records in Qatar, including the 115-goal mark with the national team. He is also the active Portuguese player who has scored the most goals in a World Cup final with seven, two over Eusebio’s nine.
In 17 World Cup matches, Ronaldo has six wins, six defeats and five draws. He made two goals in those matches and in this way helped his team win on Tuesday, setting up the opening goal by Bruno Fernandez in the first half at Estádio do Dragão in Porto. Fernandez added the second goal after the end of the first half.
This will be the sixth consecutive World Cup appearance for Portugal, whose best appearance was third in 1966 and fourth in 2006 at Ronaldo’s first attempt. Portugal were knocked out in the Round of 16 in 2010 and 2018, not past the group stage in 2014.
Ronaldo’s Instagram post on Tuesday came with a picture of him and his longtime friend Pepe, the 39-year-old veteran defender who is also likely to play in the World Cup finals.
Ronaldo will be 41 by the time of the 2026 World Cup, and he had said before Tuesday’s match that he was starting to get annoyed with frequent questions about how long he planned to play.
These questions are likely to disappear for now, because everyone knows that there will be at least another World Cup for Ronaldo.
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