Cristiano Ronaldo (39) of Portugal, who is breaking the scoring record in the history of soccer, scored his 133rd A-match goal. This marks his 906th goal including the club record, and he has taken a step further toward the 1,000th goal that has yet to be scored.
Portugal beat Poland 3-1 in the third away match of Group A of the 2024-25 UEFA Nations League held at the National Stadium in Warsaw, Poland on Sunday (Korea time). Portugal, which won three consecutive games, maintained its No. 1 ranking, while Poland ranked third after Croatia (2-1) with one win and two losses. Scotland is ranked fourth with three consecutive losses.
Ronaldo scored the finishing goal. Starting as the frontier striker, Ronaldo pushed the ball into the empty net when Rafael Leão’s left-footed shot hit the post at the 37th minute of the first half when his team was leading 1-0. Ronaldo has become the all-time leading scorer in A-match history, and has increased his own record to 133 goals by remarkably selecting his position.
Portugal’s teammates also celebrated Ronaldo’s score with a victory. In the 26th minute of the first half, Huven Neves passed long into the penalty box in the midfield and Bruno Fernandes hit the ball with his head. Bernardu Silva then advanced and scored a left-footed shot to break the net. Portugal, which was hit by Piotr Zielinski in the 33rd minute of the second half, brought the victory with its own goal in the 43rd minute of the second half.
Portugal coach Roberto Martinez said after the match, “I trained in various tactics over the past few days and showed my skills in real life. I played brilliantly as a team. New players have proven to be very helpful as well.”
Ronaldo is striving to score 1,000 goals overall in professional A matches that he has revealed as his goal. Ronaldo settled in the professional league in Saudi Arabia after playing at prestigious European clubs such as Portugal, England, Spain, and Italy, and has scored 773 goals overall in his professional career. Since establishing his career-high 900 goals in the first match against Croatia at the UNL on June 6, Ronaldo has been rewriting history as a pro and national team member.
The reason why it is not impossible to score 1,000 goals in total is that the club continues to score. Ronaldo became the first player to become the top scorer in four different leagues with 35 goals in 31 matches in the Saudi league last season. “I don’t follow records. Records just follow me,” Ronaldo said on social media. When expanded to official matches, he showed his strength to score 50 goals (35 goals in the regular league, 3 goals in the Cup, 6 goals in the Asian Champions League, 6 goals in the Arab Club Champions Cup) in 50 matches.
He has also increased his A-match playing record to 215 games, and Portugal and 꽁머니 League coach Martinez is still using Ronaldo as a key resource for Portugal. If Ronaldo, who will turn 40 next year, maintains his physical condition, he will likely complete the record within two years.