Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr break 87-year-old world record for longest scoring streak in soccer history

Al Nassr wrote a new chapter in soccer history on Saturday, breaking an 87-year-old record for the longest streak of consecutive matches scoring in top-flight league soccer. The milestone came in unlikely fashion, arriving not through Cristiano Ronaldo, but through a stoppage-laden fightback in a 1-1 draw away at Al Khaleej.

The record-breaking goal fell to substitute Abdullah Al-Hamdan, who curled home a stunning strike from outside the box in the second half to cancel out Al Khaleej’s early lead.

Beyond salvaging a point for Al Nassr, the goal extended the club’s scoring streak to 94 consecutive matches in the Saudi Pro League, one more than the previous all-time record.

That record had stood since the 1930s, held by Argentine giants River Plate, who scored in 93 straight league matches between September 1936 and June 1939. Al Nassr’s run dates back to December 8, 2023, a 4-1 win over Al Riyadh that followed a 3-0 defeat to Al Hilal, the last time the club had failed to find the net in the league.

Since then, Ronaldo and company have found a way to score in every single Saudi Pro League match they have played, eventually matching and now surpassing River Plate’s near-nine-decade-old mark.

Al Nassr begin their AFC Champions League Elite campaign

Saturday’s draw marked the final domestic test before Al Nassr shifts its attention to continental competition. Ronaldo and company will open their AFC Champions League Elite campaign away at Al Ain on Tuesday, September 16, looking to build on this week’s historic milestone.

Al Nassr’s return to continental competition also marks a step up in class. Last season, the club competed in the AFC Champions League Two, a tier below the Elite version.

In that run, Al Nassr arrived at the final having won all 10 matches it played, only to see that unbeaten run end at the worst possible moment with a 1-0 defeat to Gamba Osaka in Riyadh. This time around, Ronaldo and company will be measuring themselves against the continent’s top clubs from the very start of the campaign.