Cristiano Ronaldo Breaks Records in the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers

On another historic night, Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo once again captured attention during his national team's match against Hungary in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, etching his name in golden letters in the records of world football.

In the match that ended with a thrilling victory for Portugal 3_2, Ronaldo added a new goal from a penalty in the 58 minute, bringing his total to 39 goals in the history of World Cup qualifiers, thus equaling the record previously held by retired Guatemalan striker Carlos Ruiz.

With this achievement, Ronaldo distances himself from Lionel Messi, who has 36 goals, the same number as Iranian Ali Daei.

The match witnessed exciting moments and surprising twists;

Dominik Szoboszlai, the captain of Hungary and Liverpool midfielder, was just a young boy in the last encounter between Portugal and Hungary that Ronaldo played years ago.

Additionally, three of the players who started the match on Tuesday were not even born when Ronaldo played his first international match 22 years ago.

What adds to the greatness of Ronaldo's achievements is his consistency and the diversity of his numbers at different ages;

he scored 52 goals in 118 matches before turning thirty, and in the following decade (after turning 30) he scored 83 goals in 99 matches, and in his forties, he scored 6 goals in just 6 matches.

Thus, Ronaldo has surpassed all football legends, having scored more than 89 goals for his national team after turning thirty, exceeding the records of great stars like players from England, Brazil, France, Spain, and Italy.

Ronaldo still has the opportunity to expand this record in the upcoming matches against Armenia and Hungary, in addition to two encounters against the Republic of Ireland, continuing to write history in the world of football.