Cristiano Ronaldo breaks every record

The Portuguese star reached 40 goals in World Cup qualifying. He is the all-time leading scorer.

Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates a goal with the Portuguese national team

CR7 never stops. Never, anywhere. He never gets tired, he is not affected by the passing of time. He manages it as he wants and remains… eternally a teenager in his performance. Even though he has turned 40. Record in goals, record in appearances, record in finals, in distinctions, in trophies. Cristiano Ronaldo is not just a great footballer. HE IS the living embodiment of the record. Wherever he has played, he has left behind statistics that seem unapproachable. All-time top scorer in the Portuguese national team, first in the Champions League, first in prestige and influence points.

He does not chase records, they find him. His career is a continuous chain of breaking records. And perhaps the greatest record of all? His thirst for the next one. That came on Tuesday night (13/1), after his goal against Hungary made him the top scorer in the qualifying phase of all World Cups. The Portuguese star of Al Nasr reached 40 goals, leaving behind Carlos Ruiz of Guatemala. The top five is completed by Messi, Ali Daei and Robert Lewandowski.

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With his 947th career goal, Ronaldo set a new qualifying record. As of today, he is the first player worldwide to score 40 goals in World Cup qualifying. Even Lionel Messi (36) hasn’t done that yet.

Scratch that number! Just before halftime, CR7 scored his second of the night and Portugal were breathing more and more World Cup air. In the end, though, qualification didn’t quite work out. Dominik Szoboszlai equalized in stoppage time (90+1) and postponed the decision in Group F.

Against Hungary

Meanwhile, in Tuesday's game against Hungary (2-2) and equalizing for Portugal in the 22nd minute, the Al Nasr superstar easily converted Semedo's pass to temporarily equalize and another top in the historical lists of football, acquired his name.

More specifically, he now has 40 goals in World Cup qualifiers, being the top scorer of all time in this process, above Messi with 36 and Carlos Ruiz (39).

Just before the break he scored the second to overthrow the Iberians, reaching 41! The wing-backs gave two goals to captain Ronaldo, who wrote another page in the history of world football, but other national team players missed the opportunity to draw some relief.

Man of the match: Cristiano Ronaldo (8)

With his sights set on his sixth World Cup – (in addition to many other European Championships) – he showed that his ambition remains the same as in 2006, when he first participated in the tournament. Now with a sharpness in the area that he has not had for 19 years, he scored both of Portugal's goals, adding another record to his already endless list of achievements. With 41 goals (in 51 matches), he became the all-time leading scorer in World Cup qualifying, surpassing Guatemala's Carlos Ruiz, who scored 39 goals in 47 matches.

He started targeting the Hungarian goal early on and in the second half, he scored a third goal with a clever left-footed shot. The change is understandable, but what difference would it have made in the final minutes, after a tough draw.

The scorer of both Portugal goals in the draw with Hungary, Cristiano Ronaldo, praised on social media the fact that the national team got a little closer to qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. "We are getting closer and closer to our goal! Let's go, Portugal!" CR7 wrote.