Sport

Cristiano Ronaldo was not the first player to score in 5 World Cup tournaments

Cristiano Ronaldo was not the first player to score in 5 World Cup tournaments
Cristiano Ronaldo makes history as first male player to score in five …
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Cristiano Ronaldo scored a penalty in Portugal's World Cup opening match against Ghana - meaning the forward has scored in five different World Cup tournaments.

The Portugal captain took the penalty in the 65th minute, making it the 118th goal for his country and helped the side to a 3-2 victory in Group H.

Ronaldo scored his first World Cup goal back in 2006 at the tournament in Germany where Portugal was up against Iran, then four years later in 2010 he scored in South Africa when his nation faced South Korea.

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In 2018, there were plenty of goals from Ronaldo in Russia, marking his fourth World Cup campaign, with his recent goal against Ghana at the 2022 Qatar World Cup totalling five.

Overall, Portugal's best performance with Ronaldo was fourth place at the 2006 World Cup while Ronaldo scored the most goals at the 2018 Russia World Cup with four goals in one tournament.

Ronaldo has scored eight goals in total at the World Cup across the five tournaments he has played in.

Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal looks on during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group H match between Portugal and Ghana at Stadium 974 on November 24, 2022 in Doha, QatarPhoto by Julian Finney/Getty Images

"It's a beautiful moment, in my fifth World Cup. We won, we started off on the right foot, a very important victory," Ronaldo said of the achievement.

"We know that in these competitions winning the first game is crucial. Another record too, the only player to score in five consecutive World Cups, that for me it is a reason of great pride."

While Ronaldo may be the first male footballer to achieve the milestone, it was actually Brazilian woman's football player Marta Vieira da Silva who was the first to score in five World Cups in 2019.


Both Marta Vieira da Silva (left) and Christine Sinclair (right) have scored in five different World Cup tournaments before Ronaldo achieved this milestone Photo by Buda Mendes/Getty Images and Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images

She is also Brazil's top international goalscorer of either gender and holds the record for the most goals scored at FIFA World Cup tournaments at 17 goals.

The second player to reach this record was Canada's Christine Sinclair who managed this feat in the same year and has overall scored the most international goals by a male or female player at 190.

Many were quick to point out this fact on social media.

People on Twitter highlighted the fact that Marta Vieira da Silva scored in five different World Cup tournaments before Ronaldo recently did Twitter/AyoCaesar




People on Twitter highlighted the fact that Marta Vieira da Silva scored in five different World Cup tournaments before Ronaldo recently did Twitter/wbuxtonofficial



People on Twitter highlighted the fact that Marta Vieira da Silva scored in five different World Cup tournaments before Ronaldo recently did Twitter/megreyes_




People on Twitter highlighted the fact that Marta Vieira da Silva scored in five different World Cup tournaments before Ronaldo recently did Twitter/sarahradinasch

Portugal will face Uruguay in their next Group H World Cup match on November 28, followed by South Korea on December 2.

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