Cristiano Ronaldo was among the goals once again as Portugal cruised past Armenia in 2026 World Cup qualifying, but he was denied the chance to outdo long-time rival Lionel Messi by national team boss Roberto Martínez.
The former Real Madrid superstar prodded Pedro Neto’s cross into the net to put Portugal 2-0 ahead in the 21st minute in Yerevan. He added a second after halftime, a sublime strike from the edge of the penalty box that made it 4-0.
Ronaldo comes close to another Portugal treble
It seemed as if Portugal could score every time they ventured forward. Ronaldo came agonizingly close to an 11th international hat-trick on two occasions immediately after his second goal.
However, the Al Nassr striker was replaced by PSG’s Gonçalo Ramos with more than 30 minutes still left to play. At 41, Ronaldo’s game time is being carefully managed, especially with Portugal set to face Hungary on Tuesday in what is expected to be their toughest qualifier.
Ronaldo stays level with Messi
Ronaldo therefore remains on 10 international hat-tricks, the same as Messi. With both players approaching the end of their illustrious careers, there are unlikely to be many more opportunities for either to edge ahead in this particular category.
larabawa
195
cr7 The King 👑 of football ⚽ suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii suiiiiiiii
Yohabi1
135
Messi is currently 38 years which means he is two years younger than Ronaldo, if he was to continue playing competitive football upto the age of 40 or over 40 years like Christiano, you can better imagine how the statistics would look like before final retirement.
ManGrils
99
In the history of football since the first international match! 🇵🇹Cristiano Ronaldo: 🔝 The first player to score (110) with national teams. 🔝 The first player to score (120) with national teams. 🔝 The first player to score (130) with national teams. 🔝 The first player to score (140) with national teams. 🇵🇹Cristiano Ronaldo becomes the first player in the history of football to score 140 goals with national teams. (𝐄𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐊𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐚)
pazelpsz
70
Which National team is Armenia? This guy is so lucky... Most of these teams consistently don't even make it to the world cup. Why can't big National teams in UEROPE face each other like in South America and Africa?
Sowbklosuz
29
Messi is currently 38 years which means he is two years younger than Ronaldo, if he was to continue playing competitive football upto the age of 40 or over 40 years like Christiano, you can better imagine how the statistics would look like before final retirement.
not so many players play up to forty's it takes a special player to do that and still be able to score in almost every game
AFerpQBa0552
29
Messi is currently 38 years which means he is two years younger than Ronaldo, if he was to continue playing competitive football upto the age of 40 or over 40 years like Christiano, you can better imagine how the statistics would look like before final retirement.
Keep dreaming he won’t be able to match Cristiano even if he plays up to the age of 60😂😂
sampin
13
Messi is currently 38 years which means he is two years younger than Ronaldo, if he was to continue playing competitive football upto the age of 40 or over 40 years like Christiano, you can better imagine how the statistics would look like before final retirement.
cr7 started as a midfielder later became a winger so those 2yrs u want to use as a measuring rod really doesn't tie
pasbeimtz
12
Messi is currently 38 years which means he is two years younger than Ronaldo, if he was to continue playing competitive football upto the age of 40 or over 40 years like Christiano, you can better imagine how the statistics would look like before final retirement.
let him continue
Lovebug2
11
Keep dreaming he won’t be able to match Cristiano even if he plays up to the age of 60😂😂
Ronaldo is not better than Pele or Messi on International goals. He plays more games than Argentina and Brazil.Europe has many weak townships masqueradingas countries and weak nations too. San Moreno ranked 205 , Liechtenstein🇱🇮 204, Armenia 🇦🇲 ranked 105, Lithuania 🇱🇹 143, Azerbaijan 🇦🇿 122, Estonia 🇪🇪 126, Faroe Islands🇫🇴 137, Malta🇲🇹 168, Luxembourg 🇱🇺 92, Latvia 🇱🇻137, Kosovo 🇽🇰 95, san Marino 🇸🇲 210, Moldova 🇲🇩 154, Cyprus 🇨🇾 128, Kazakhstan 🇰🇿 114, Andorra 🇦🇩 153, Estonia 🇪🇪 126, Gibraltar 🇬🇮 199 all these are weaker than the weakest team in Conmebol, Bolivia 🇧🇴 at 78 in the FIFA rankings. Scores are low amongst competitive teams unlike the obvious matches Portugal plays. Messi being so close to Ronaldo's tally shows how better he is
Dodbdmnruz
10
Which National team is Armenia? This guy is so lucky... Most of these teams consistently don't even make it to the world cup. Why can't big National teams in UEROPE face each other like in South America and Africa?
is venezuela a great team that your messi face last game? i
Bunbeimpty
10
Messi is currently 38 years which means he is two years younger than Ronaldo, if he was to continue playing competitive football upto the age of 40 or over 40 years like Christiano, you can better imagine how the statistics would look like before final retirement.
Messi might retire before cr7
posbcmosy
9
Which National team is Armenia? This guy is so lucky... Most of these teams consistently don't even make it to the world cup. Why can't big National teams in UEROPE face each other like in South America and Africa?
name 5 big countries in South America
Dobbcdlnpz
9
In the history of football since the first international match! 🇵🇹Cristiano Ronaldo: 🔝 The first player to score (110) with national teams. 🔝 The first player to score (120) with national teams. 🔝 The first player to score (130) with national teams. 🔝 The first player to score (140) with national teams. 🇵🇹Cristiano Ronaldo becomes the first player in the history of football to score 140 goals with national teams. (𝐄𝐧𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐊𝐨𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐚)
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is the first to win the world cup lol
OkorieJ30
9
Messi is currently 38 years which means he is two years younger than Ronaldo, if he was to continue playing competitive football upto the age of 40 or over 40 years like Christiano, you can better imagine how the statistics would look like before final retirement.
Can you please tell us the last time Messi scored a hat trick in all competitions?
Yohabi1
8
cr7 started as a midfielder later became a winger so those 2yrs u want to use as a measuring rod really doesn't tie
Messi started in the middle of Worldclass players while Ronaldo started in a place without as many superstars.