Tag: Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo set a new record for World Cup qualifying goals, but Hungary grabbed a late 2-2 draw to stop Portugal from reaching the 2026 edition with two games to spare.

After Attila Szalai netted for the visitors, Ronaldo’s first-half brace put Roberto Martinez’s side on the verge of qualification for the 2026 World Cup.

However, Dominik Szoboszlai struck in stoppage time to make Portugal wait and boost his nation’s hopes of making it to the tournament in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

“We are getting closer to our goal! Let’s go, Portugal,” said Ronaldo on X after the game.

Martinez’s side top Group F with 10 points, five clear of Hungary.

“We didn’t manage the game in the last 10 minutes well enough,” admitted Spanish coach Martinez.

“If you don’t kill the game, you need to know how to manage it until the end. Today we stopped playing and Hungary equalised.”

Portugal snatched a late victory from a five-goal thriller when the teams met in Hungary in September, as Marco Rossi’s side showed their steel.

Hoping to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1986, Hungary again proved a tough nut to crack.

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They took an early lead through Szalai, when the tall defender headed home from Szoboszlai’s corner after eight minutes.

Ronaldo, still leading the line for his country at 40, soon levelled, tucking home after Nelson Semedo crossed for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.

It was his 40th goal in World Cup qualifying, setting a new record ahead of retired Guatemala international Carlos Ruiz on 39.

Ronaldo, who missed a penalty against Ireland at the weekend, extended his tally before half-time with his 143rd international goal, also an all-time record.

The veteran was in the right place at the right time again to clinically finish off a cross from Nuno Mendes and give his team the edge in an end-to-end clash.

Hungary pushed for an equaliser in the second half and Szalai hit the crossbar with another header.

Martinez took off Ronaldo, who is hoping to play at a sixth World Cup, but Nations League champions Portugal could not keep hold of their lead.

Eventually, Liverpool midfielder Szoboszlai found the leveller when he arrived at the back post to finish off Daniel Lukacs’s low cross, which found its way through.

“I’m proud of everyone, I’m proud of the whole team,” said Szoboszlai. “I couldn’t get to the near post, so I went for the far post. I don’t know how many legs the ball went through, but it worked out.”

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Brazil great Ronaldo has called on the Selecao’s Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti to restore Neymar to the squad for the FIFA World Cup 2026 in North America.

Brazil’s record goalscorer with 79 goals from 128 matches, Neymar, has not pulled on the yellow jersey since October 2023, when he suffered a serious knee injury.

The 33-year-old has played regularly for the Sao Paulo side Santos since he returned to his first club in January following a fruitless spell in Saudi Arabia with Al Hilal.

Even so, in his four matches in charge, Ancelotti has not called up Neymar.

“He is a decisive player for the Brazilian Selecao. We don’t have another player like Neymar,” Ronaldo, who twice won the World Cup with Brazil, said during a publicity event in Sao Paulo alongside his compatriot.

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“The people hope 100 percent that he will go to the World Cup because if he is there, we will definitely have better results than if he’s not there,” added Ronaldo, 49, who scored 62 goals in 99 Brazil games.

Neymar has been injury-plagued in the last few years and missed Brazil’s Copa America triumph on home soil in 2019.

He joined Al Hilal from Paris Saint-Germain in August 2023 but after playing just five times and scoring one goal, he ruptured his cruciate knee ligament on international duty against Uruguay.

He was out of action for a year and would play only two more games for the Saudi side before leaving for Santos.

After leaving Neymar out of his squad for World Cup qualifiers in September, Ancelotti said that he “needs to get in better shape to help the national team and to give the best of himself at the World Cup.”

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Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winner in a 2-1 victory over Germany in Munich on Wednesday, sending Portugal through to the Nations League final and breaking his run of bad fortune against the Germans.

Ronaldo’s 68th-minute tap in, a record-extending 137th international goal, sealed a first win over Germany after five losses, the 40-year-old’s longest streak against any national side without tasting victory.

After a stuttering first half, Florian Wirtz produced a moment of magic to give Germany the lead three minutes after halftime, starting and finishing a clever burst through the middle and heading in the opener.

Portugal’s Francisco Conceicao ran 35 metres to score a brilliant solo goal, levelling things up with half an hour remaining.

Conceicao’s goal was a fitting tribute to his father Sergio, who scored a hat-trick the last time Portugal beat Germany in a 3-0 win in 2000.

The stage was then set for Ronaldo, who had missed two solid chances earlier, to land the telling blow, turning in a Nuno Mendes pass from close range.

Portugal, winners of the inaugural Nations League in 2019, will now face either European champions Spain or France in Sunday’s final at the same venue.

Portugal midfielder Bernardo Silva celebrated Ronaldo’s relentless desire to play and win.

“It’s never easy — I don’t know how old he is, I think he’s like 40 — to still be hungry to go on every day,” said Silva. “We’re very happy to have him with us.”

Portugal had four players backing up from winning Saturday’s Champions League final — and the ensuing celebrations — but it was Germany who struggled to find rhythm early.

The match started 10 minutes late due to a violent storm, which left hailstones scattered across the turf.

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Aleksandar Pavlovic mislaid several passes while Portugal’s approach of pressing Jonathan Tah almost paid dividends, with the defender insecure in possession.

Ronaldo, greeted by Portuguese cheers and German boos every time he came near the ball, almost scored the opener six minutes in, but his shot was claimed by old La Liga sparring partner Marc-Andre ter Stegen, playing his first match for Germany since September 2024.

Germany’s best chance of the opening half fell to debutant Nick Woltemade with 18 minutes gone, but the 1.98-metre-tall striker’s low shot was well saved by Diogo Costa.

Ronaldo was inches away from giving Portugal the lead when the visitors broke immediately after halftime, but he was unable to get enough of his boot on a clever Nuno Mendes cross with an open goal beckoning.

Germany took less than a minute to punish the miss. Wirtz tiptoed down the left side, attracting three defenders before laying off for Joshua Kimmich.

The German captain chipped it over the Portugal defence and back to Wirtz, who expertly guided a low header into the bottom right corner.

Both sides made three changes on the 60-minute mark, but it was Roberto Martinez’s substitutions that had the telling impact.

Five minutes after coming on, Conceicao shed Robin Gosens with a shimmy near the halfway line and advanced goalwards before unleashing a superb curling shot past the desperate fingers of Ter Stegen.

Ronaldo then put Portugal in front, nervelessly tapping in a Nuno Mendes pass to make up for his previous misses – his 137th goal for Portugal in his 219th international.

Munich-born Karim Adeyemi rattled the crossbar with eight minutes remaining, but Germany could not find an equaliser and will need to be content with a third-placed match in Stuttgart on Sunday.

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Saudi Arabian officials are in “difficult” talks to keep Cristiano Ronaldo in the country, a source with knowledge of the negotiations told AFP on Thursday, after the star footballer suggested he was leaving Al Nassr.

“There is an ongoing difficult negotiation to convince Ronaldo to stay and play” in the Saudi Pro League next season, said the source from the Public Investment Fund (PIF), a major investor in Saudi football.

“First option is a transfer to Al Hilal with an opportunity to feature in the FIFA Club World Cup or to Asia champion Al Ahli,” the source added.

Ronaldo posted “This chapter is over” overnight Monday, hours after the Saudi Pro League wrapped up with Al Nassr finishing third and trophyless once again.

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A special transfer window opens from June 1-10 to allow the 32 teams involved in the Club World Cup to sign players.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino last week said, “there are discussions” over the former United, Real Madrid, Juventus and Sporting Lisbon star playing at the enlarged tournament in the United States starting on June 14.

Portuguese forward Ronaldo, 40, joined Al Nassr in 2022 from Manchester United, and his contract expires at the end of next month.

“Ronaldo’s presence is a key factor in developing the Saudi league in the last two years and a half. He opens the door for elite and young players to come to Saudi Arabia,” the source added.

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Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo has reached an agreement with Al Nassr to extend his contract by another year until June 2026, an official with the Saudi club told AFP on Monday.

The official said the sides have agreed on the renewable extension of Ronaldo’s contract, “but it has not been signed yet. An announcement will be made over the coming days”.

Ronaldo turned 40 last week with his current contract due to end in June 2025.

The former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus star joined Al Nassr in January 2023 and has since scored 82 goals in 90 matches.

In August, Ronaldo said he would stay with Al Nassr through the end of his professional career, which may be “soon or in two or three years”.

“But it’ll most likely happen with Al Nassr, in the team that makes me happy… and where I feel good.”

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The Portuguese great appeared to trade an end-of-career payday for football obscurity when he moved to Riyadh’s Al Nassr two years ago in a deal said to be worth $250 million.

But his influence became clear when he was followed by a parade of ageing superstars to the big-spending Saudi Pro League.

Saudi Arabia was then awarded the 2034 World Cup in December, the crowning glory for the oil-rich kingdom’s strategy of revamping its image through sports, tourism and culture.

When Ronaldo launched his YouTube channel in August, he gained one million subscribers in just 90 minutes and 20 million within 24 hours. He currently has 73.5 million.

Although World Cup glory has probably eluded him, unlike his Argentine rival Lionel Messi, records still dangle in front of the five-time Ballon d’Or and Champions League winner.

Despite his prodigious form as he closes in on 1,000 professional goals in official matches, Ronaldo is yet to win a Saudi or continental trophy with Al Nassr, with the Arab Club Champions Cup of 2023 his only triumph with the club.

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Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Portugal staged a second-half supershow to crush Poland 5-1 and reach the Nations League quarter-finals on Friday.

Portugal joined France, Germany, Italy, and Spain in the quarter-finals of the Nations League, while the hopes of Poland to advance were ended.

Having struggled to plant a shot on target in the first half, Portugal stepped on the accelerator after the break.

Rafael Leao broke the deadlock in Porto just before the hour mark after starting and finishing the move.

The AC Milan striker raced away and passed to Nuno Mendes whose cross from the left was headed powerfully past Marcin Bulka in the Portugal goal.

Thirteen minutes later, skipper Ronaldo got his name on the scoresheet, converting a penalty after Jakub Kiwior was penalised for a handball in the area.

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Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes made it 3-0 in the 80th minute, scoring after a clever run by Vitinha.

Pedro Neto added the fourth three minutes later after Ronaldo’s fine pass which left the Polish defence stranded.

As Polish spirits sank, Ronaldo added his second and Portugal’s fifth in the 87th minute with a spectacular overhead kick before Dominik Marczuk tucked away a consolation goal for the visitors.

Poland had enjoyed the better chances before falling behind but their potency in front of goal was blunted by the absence of record goal-scorer Robert Lewandowski who was sidelined with a back injury.

Moments before Leao’s goal, Portuguese keeper Diogo Costa pulled off a fine save to deny Marczuk having also been alert to deny Nicola Zalewski in the first half.

Portugal’s best chance in the first 45 minutes had fallen to Ronaldo who fired a close-range effort over the bar from close range.

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Cristiano Ronaldo was diagnosed on Sunday with a viral infection and will miss Al Nassr’s Asian Champions League opener this week at Iraq’s Al Shorta.

The Portuguese veteran is targeting Asia’s top club crown to add to his long list of achievements when the competition kicks off on Monday.

“Al Nassr captain Cristiano Ronaldo was not feeling well today and was diagnosed with a viral infection,” said a club statement posted on social media platform X on Sunday.

“The team’s doctor confirmed he needs to rest and stay at home. As a result, he will not be travelling with the team to Iraq today. We wish our captain a speedy recovery.”

The former Real Madrid and Manchester United forward saw his first attempt with the Saudi side Al Nassr end in a quarter-final penalty shootout defeat to eventual champions Al Ain earlier this year.

Now rebranded as the Asian Champions League Elite, Al Nassr and the other teams from Saudi Arabia will be a major threat after spending vast sums of money in the last two years on the likes of Ronaldo and Neymar.

England forward Ivan Toney was the latest big name to swap Europe for Saudi when he left Brentford for Al Ahli last month for more than $45 million.

As part of the new-look competition, Saudi Arabia — which is expected to host the 2034 World Cup — will stage a mini-knockout tournament from the quarter-finals onward to decide the champions, who will take home at least $12 million.

Al Nassr, Al Ahli and Neymar’s Al Hilal will all be involved when the Champions League Elite launches on Monday with a new format that splits 24 teams evenly into two groups of East and West.

Each team will play eight different opponents in the group stage.

The top eight teams from each zone will play in the last 16 over two legs in March, before the action moves to the final stages in Saudi Arabia from April 25 to May 4.

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Saudi champions Al Hilal are looking to win a record-extending fifth Asian title but they are still waiting for the return of Brazilian ace Neymar, who has been sidelined since suffering a serious knee injury last year.

Al Hilal have signed Portugal full-back Joao Cancelo from Manchester City, bolstering a squad that already featured Aleksandar Mitrovic, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Ruben Neves.

Despite the absence of the 39-year-old Ronaldo for Monday’s opening encounter in Bagdad, Al Hilal are still able to call on Sadio Mane, Aymeric Laporte and Marcelo Brozovic.

The defending champions, Al Ain, are from the United Arab Emirates and were coached by Argentina great Hernan Crespo to victory against Japan’s Yokohama F-Marinos over two legs in May’s final.

Al Ain are one of two UAE clubs taking part in this year’s edition, with teams from Qatar, Iran, Uzbekistan and Iraq completing the West zone line-up.

In the East, clubs from Japan have posted the best results in recent years and Yokohama returned to the Champions League to spearhead their challenge.

Coach Harry Kewell has been sacked since leading them to last season’s final, with the former Liverpool and Leeds forward paying the price for his team’s lacklustre domestic form.

Kawasaki Frontale and Vissel Kobe are also representing Japan, while three-time champions Pohang Steelers, twice winners Ulsan and debutants Gwangju will carry the flag for South Korea.

Chinese clubs’ spending power has long since dried up, but former Chelsea attacker Oscar is still on the books of Shanghai Port, who are led by Australian coach Kevin Muscat.

Shandong Taishan and Shanghai Shenhua are also involved from China, while one club each from Australia, Thailand and Malaysia feature in the East league stage.

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Star Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo created history as he became the first-ever individual to reach a combined one billion followers across all social media platforms.

The 39-year-old striker took to social media and shared the achievement with his fans while thanking them for their love and support.

“We’ve made history — 1 BILLION followers! This is more than just a number – it’s a testament to our shared passion, drive, and love for the game and beyond,” Ronaldo posted.

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“From the streets of Madeira to the biggest stages in the world, I’ve always played for my family and for you, and now 1 billion of us stand together.

“You’ve been with me every step of the way, through all the highs and the lows. This journey is our journey, and together, we’ve shown that there are no limits to what we can achieve.

“Thank you for believing in me, for your support, and for being part of my life. The best is yet to come, and we’ll keep pushing, winning, and making history together.”

As of this writing, Cristiano Ronaldo has 639 million followers on Instagram, 170 million on Facebook, 113 million on X(formally Twitter), and 60.6 million on his recently launched YouTube channel titled “UR · Cristiano.”

He also has another 9 million on the Chinese network Weibo and has a presence on Kuaishou.

The Portuguese talisman recently achieved a massive landmark on the field as well during a UEFA Nations League match against Croatia as he became the first player to score 900 goals.

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Portugal’s star forward, Cristiano Ronaldo, has recently made the bold statement that winning the European Championship title is just as prestigious as clinching the FIFA World Cup.

Ronaldo made history on Thursday by becoming the first player to score 900 goals during the UEFA Nations League game against Croatia.

The 39-year-old striker put behind him a disappointing Euro 2024 in which he failed to score as he turned in a Nuno Mendes cross in the 34th minute at the Estadio da Luz to reach the landmark.

Following the game, the Portuguese star mentioned that he is considering the possibility of participating in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, although he emphasized that it is not currently a top priority for him.

Ronaldo further stated that he has won two trophies for Portugal, including Euros 2016, which he thinks is equal to winning a World Cup.

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“Portugal winning Euros is equivalent to winning a World Cup,” Ronaldo said.

“I’ve already won two trophies for Portugal that I really wanted. I’m not motivated by that. I’m motivated by enjoying football and the records come naturally.”

For the unversed, prior to Ronaldo, French striker Kylian Mbappe also made a similar statement, claiming that the European Championship is more difficult than the World Cup, a tournament.

“The Euros are complicated. For me, it is more complicated than a World Cup,” Mbappe said in June.

“Even if there is more pressure at the World Cup. All the teams know each other, we play against each other all the time. Tactically, it is a very similar football.”

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Cristiano Ronaldo scored the 900th goal of his remarkable career on Thursday as Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 in Lisbon in their first game of the UEFA Nations League.

Ronaldo, 39, put behind him a disappointing Euro 2024 in which he failed to score as he turned in a Nuno Mendes cross in the 34th minute at the Estadio da Luz to reach the landmark.

He appeared emotional as he celebrated the goal, his 131st in a Portugal shirt. Half of his goals were scored for Real Madrid, with the remainder spread across his spells at Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United and current club Al-Nassr.

Diogo Dalot’s goal had put Portugal in front early on before Ronaldo netted, with a Dalot own-goal reducing the deficit before the break.

The teams are in Group A1 of the latest edition of the Nations League along with Poland and Scotland.

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Portugal next host Scotland, who lost 3-2 to Poland, in Lisbon on Sunday.

Poland had been 2-0 up as Sebastian Szymanski gave them an early lead and captain Robert Lewandowski added a penalty just before the break.

However, Billy Gilmour pulled one back for League A newcomers Scotland moments after the restart, and Scott McTominay equalised before Roma’s Zalewski sneaked his spot-kick under Angus Gunn deep into stoppage time.

Elsewhere, there were wins for Slovakia and Northern Ireland in League C, while Sweden — now being coached by Jon Dahl Tomasson — beat Azerbaijan 3-1 away in Baku with Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak netting twice.

History was made in League D as San Marino, the world’s worst team according to the FIFA rankings, beat Liechtenstein 1-0 to claim their first ever competitive win.

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