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| APYonhap News |
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| ReutersYonhap News |
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Even after entering the age of 40, the power of 'CR7 (Cristiano Ronaldo nickname)' remained.
Ronaldo, wearing the Portugal national team uniform, contributed to the team's victory with multiple goals. Ronaldo helped his team win 5-0 on the 7th (Korea time) by scoring multiple goals in the first Group F match of the 2026 North-China World Cup European qualifying round against Armenia at the Vazgen Sarkishan Republic Stadium in Yerevan.
Ronaldo scored his first goal in the 21st minute of the first half when Portugal finished with his right foot on a cross from the right side with João Pélis' first goal. With João Cancelo's additional score in the first half ending the first half 3-0, Ronaldo scored again with his right foot in the first minute of the second half, scoring multiple goals. Portugal added Joao Felix's score in the 16th minute of the second half to end the game with a five-goal victory.
With the goal, Ronaldo scored a total of 140 points for the Portuguese national team alone. He has played 222 A matches in 22 years since he first wore the Portugal national team uniform in 2003 when he was 18 years old until the game against Armenia. Ronaldo's A-match record-scoring records are all-time high.
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| ReutersYonhap News |
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| ReutersYonhap News |
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Since Ronaldo moved to Saudi Arabia's Al Nasr in 2023, there have been question marks over his decline in skills. In addition to the disappointing performance shown at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, there has been a view that he may be preparing for retirement as he finishes his career in Europe and moves on to Saudi Arabia. Some predicted that it would be far from performing enough to show competitiveness on the international stage because it was in a position to actually control the team while playing under unconventional conditions in Saudi Arabia. However, Ronaldo was consistently named in Portugal's squad while playing for Al Nasr, and the scoring streak continued. In the end, while leading Portugal to victory in the 2024-2025 UEFA Nations League, he also had his dream trophy for the national team.
Ronaldo has played in five World Cups from the 2006 World Cup in Germany to the World Cup in Qatar. Ronaldo, Antonio Carvajal, Rafael Marquez (Mexico), and Lothar Mateusz (Germany) have played in five World Cups. If Ronaldo plays until next year's North Korea-China World Cup, when he turns 41 years old, Ronaldo will set a record for the most World Cup appearances ever. Considering the skills shown by the Portuguese national team so far, Ronaldo is highly likely to play in the North-China U.S. World Cup.
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| EPAYonhap News |
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This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
