More than 20 years after their professional debuts, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi continue to battle for global soccer supremacy week after week. Now the Portuguese forward has pulled ahead of the Argentine star in one more milestone—one that puts him within striking distance of history in World Cup qualifiers.
Ronaldo scored a brace for Portugal against Armenia on Matchday 1 of Group F in UEFA qualifying. Not only did it help his team cruise to a comfortable 5–0 victory and take the top spot in the standings, but it also boosted his personal scoring tally.
Cristiano has now moved ahead of Messi in the all-time World Cup qualifiers scoring chart across all confederations. Leo had drawn level at 36 goals this past Thursday, when he also netted a brace against Venezuela in Buenos Aires.
With 38 goals, CR7 now sits just one behind the all-time leader. Carlos Ruiz currently holds the record with 39 goals for Guatemala in Concacaf qualifiers during the World Cup cycles for Korea-Japan 2002, Germany 2006, South Africa 2010, Brazil 2014, and Russia 2018.
Guatemala’s Carlos Ruiz holds the all-time scoring record in World Cup qualifiers.
When could Ronaldo break Ruiz’s record?
With Carlos Ruiz retired from professional soccer since 2016 and Lionel Messi having announced he will no longer play World Cup qualifiers for Argentina, the path appears clear for Cristiano Ronaldo to claim the all-time record for himself.
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In fact, CR7 could match—or even surpass—Ruiz’s record as early as next week. On Tuesday, September 9, Portugal will play their second Group F match against Hungary at the Puskas Arena in Budapest. If Ronaldo scores once, he’ll tie Ruiz. With two or more goals, he’ll sit alone at the top.
And even if things don’t go his way on Tuesday, the 40-year-old forward will still have at least four more opportunities this year to take the record. That’s the minimum number of matches Portugal have remaining in the World Cup qualifiers on the road to the 2026 tournament in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
Ronaldo nears 1,000 career goals
With Saturday’s brace against Armenia, Cristiano Ronaldo reached 942 goals across his professional career. That includes goals scored with the Portugal national team and with clubs Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus, and Al Nassr. At 40 years old, CR7 remains the all-time leading scorer and continues to close in on the 1,000-goal milestone.
