Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo etched his name deeper into the record books on Tuesday night, scoring his 39th World Cup qualifying goal to become the joint-highest scorer in the competition’s history alongside Guatemala’s Carlos Ruiz. The Portuguese captain now sits three clear of Lionel Messi.
Ronaldo’s landmark strike came in the 58th minute at the Puskás Arena, calmly converting from the penalty spot to put Portugal ahead after Hungary’s Barnabás Varga had opened the scoring in the 21st minute. Bernardo Silva restored parity for the visitors 15 minutes later, setting up a pulsating second half.
Varga struck again in the 84th minute to level the contest at 2–2, sparking wild celebrations from the home crowd. But Portugal quickly silenced the stadium when João Cancelo found the net just two minutes later to seal a dramatic 3–2 victory for Roberto MartÃnez’s side.
The result keeps Portugal perfect in Group F after two games, following their 5–0 demolition of Armenia on Saturday in which Ronaldo bagged a brace.
They top the group with six points, while Hungary sit third on one point, level with the Republic of Ireland, who slipped to a 2–1 defeat in Armenia.