Global Economic Times

Cristiano Ronaldo, the star player of the Portuguese national football team (40, Al Nassr), has scored his 140th goal in an A-match (a match between national teams) at the age of forty.: Eugenio Rodolfo Sanabria Reporter / Updated : 2025-09-07 16:42:52

On the 7th, Ronaldo scored a multi-goal in the first group stage match of the 2026 North American World Cup European Qualifiers against Armenia in Yerevan, leading his team to a 5-0 victory. With this win, Portugal secured 3 points and climbed to the top of Group F, surpassing Hungary and Ireland.

In the 21st minute of the first half, with Portugal leading 1-0, Ronaldo celebrated his 139th A-match goal with his signature 'Siu' celebration after finishing a cross from the right flank with his right foot. He followed up with a right-footed shot from the left penalty box in the 46th minute of the second half, scoring the team's fourth goal. As the all-time leading scorer in A-matches, this goal made him the first player in football history to reach the 140-goal mark in A-matches. The second all-time top scorer in A-matches is Lionel Messi (Argentina, 114 goals), and the third is the retired Ali Daei (Iran, 108 goals).

Ronaldo, who joined the national team in 2003 and has played in 222 matches over 22 years, has now increased his total career goals for both club and country to 942 goals (802 professional goals and 140 A-match goals) with today's multi-goal performance. If Ronaldo maintains this form, which saw him score 35 goals in 41 matches for Al Nassr last season, he is expected to reach 1,000 goals within two years.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo, who has played in five consecutive World Cups from the 2006 Germany World Cup to the 2022 Qatar World Cup, will be aiming for his sixth personal World Cup appearance in the North American World Cup next year.