Cristiano Ronaldo once again proved why he remains at the pinnacle of world football, scoring two goals in Portugal\u2019s emphatic 5\u20130 victory over Armenia in their opening World Cup 2026 qualifier. The 40-year-old forward extended his tally to 140 international goals, cementing his record as the highest scorer in men\u2019s international football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ronaldo\u2019s goals came at crucial moments\u2014one in each half\u2014showing not just his finishing instincts, but also his leadership and hunger for glory that continues to inspire teammates and fans alike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Match Summary<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Portugal dominated the game from start to finish, controlling possession and slicing through Armenia\u2019s defense with ease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jo\u00e3o F\u00e9lix added to the tally with a brilliant brace, proving why he is still seen as the future of Portuguese football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jo\u00e3o Cancelo capped off the rout with a well-taken strike from outside the box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A minute\u2019s silence was held before kickoff in tribute to the late Diogo Jota, with several players\u2014including Ruben Neves\u2014paying emotional respects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Final Score: Armenia 0\u20135 Portugal<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ronaldo\u2019s Records and Milestones<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ronaldo has now scored 38 goals in World Cup qualifiers, placing him just one short of the all-time record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He has extended his lead over Lionel Messi in the all-time international scorers\u2019 chart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The brace takes him to 140 goals in 208 appearances for Portugal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His volleyed second goal was the highlight of the evening, a trademark Ronaldo finish that brought fans in Yerevan\u2014and millions watching worldwide\u2014to their feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Post-Match Reactions<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cristiano Ronaldo: \u201cI play for my country with pride and passion. Records are beautiful, but the most important thing is helping Portugal win. Today was a team victory.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Portugal Manager Roberto Mart\u00ednez: \u201cRonaldo is timeless. His hunger, discipline, and mentality inspire the whole squad. Jo\u00e3o F\u00e9lix also showed his brilliance, and it\u2019s a good sign for our campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What It Means for Portugal<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Portugal\u2019s win places them at the top of their qualifying group with maximum points and a commanding goal difference. With Ronaldo still leading the charge and younger stars like F\u00e9lix stepping up, the Sele\u00e7\u00e3o look poised to be among the favorites heading into the 2026 World Cup in North America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Key Stats<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Player Goals Notes<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cristiano Ronaldo 2 Extended international tally to 140<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jo\u00e3o F\u00e9lix 2 Showed clinical finishing and sharpness<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jo\u00e3o Cancelo 1 Stunning long-range goal<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ronaldo may be nearing the twilight of his career, but performances like this show that he still has the ability to decide games at the highest level. Portugal\u2019s blend of experience and youth could be a recipe for success as the road to the 2026 World Cup continues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Cristiano Ronaldo once again proved why he remains at the pinnacle of world football, scoring two goals in Portugal\u2019s emphatic 5\u20130 victory over Armenia in their opening World Cup 2026 qualifier. The 40-year-old forward extended his tally to 140 international goals, cementing his record as the highest scorer in men\u2019s international football. Ronaldo\u2019s goals came […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13229,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41,45],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","category-match-reports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/90minutesnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13228","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/90minutesnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/90minutesnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/90minutesnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/90minutesnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13228"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/90minutesnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13228\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13230,"href":"https:\/\/90minutesnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13228\/revisions\/13230"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/90minutesnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13229"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/90minutesnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13228"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/90minutesnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13228"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/90minutesnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13228"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}