Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo will be officially competing at his fifth FIFA World Cup this year after Portugal won against North Macedonia in the World Cup 2022 qualifying playoff at the Dragao stadium in Porto Tuesday.
Ronaldo is the only player to have scored at least once in nine top tournaments in a row. The Portugal team went on to beat North Macedonia. The legendary striker, who has played in every World Cup since 2006, helped Portugal defeat North Macedonia 2-0 to qualify for Qatar 2022.
The highest scorer in men's international football will get another chance this year in Qatar. "The years go by, but the objectives always remain the same," Ronaldo wrote on Instagram Wednesday.
Bruno Fernandes also displayed an impressive performance, scoring in each half in Portugal's playoff against North Macedonia, with Ronaldo and Diogo Jota's assistance, leading their country to its sixth consecutive World Cup.
"Goal achieved, we're at the Qatar World Cup," Ronaldo captioned on Instagram alongside a photo with the whole squad. "We're in our rightful place! Thank you to all the Portuguese people for the tireless support! Let's go Portugal!"
During the game in Porto, the Portugal team appeared to be set for quite a long game, with both skippers Ronaldo and Jota going close in the first 30 minutes. Ronaldo has six wins, six losses and five draws in 17 World Cup games. He has two assists in those matches, which helped his team win Tuesday, setting up the opening goal by Fernandes in the first half. Fernandes added the second after halftime.
There were four other players who have made it to their five World Cups — Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon from 1998-2014, Mexico defender Rafael Márquez from 2002-18, Germany midfielder Lothar Matthaeus from 1982-98 and Mexico goalkeeper Antonio Carbajal from 1950-66. Buffon was in the Italy squad in 1998; however, he did not play in the tournament.
Meanwhile, others who have a chance to join Ronaldo by playing in Qatar are Argentine legend Lionel Messi, Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa and Mexico midfielder Andrés Guardado, who also made it to four World Cups. Spain defender Sergio Ramos also took part in four World Cups, but he has not been called up by coach Luis Enrique recently.
Ronaldo will be playing in his 10th straight major tournament, which began with the 2004 European Championship, including four World Cups and four other European matches, a competition he helped Portugal win in 2016.
Ronaldo's best finish was a third-place in 1966 and a fourth-place run in 2006 - Ronaldo's first attempt. Portugal was eliminated in the round of 16 in 2010 and 2018. The team, unfortunately, did not make it past the group stage in 2014.
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