Portugal did not put up a great performance in the World Cup 2026 Qualifiers match against Hungary that took place at the Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon.
They drew the match 2-2. However, despite Portugal’s below-par performance, the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo stood out with a solid showing. With his stupendous performance, the legendary Portuguese striker added another feather to his already illustrious cap, as he broke a world record and became the first player in history to achieve an extraordinary feat.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first goal of the match from close range in the 22nd minute, as he equalized an Attila Szalai strike that put Hungary in the lead in the 8th minute. He then put his side in the lead with another strike in the stoppage time of the first half. He thus managed to score a brace, even though Dominik Szobozlai denied Portugal a win with his late strike for Hungary.
Cristiano Ronaldo now has 41 goals for Portugal in World Cup Qualifier history. He is now the highest goalscorer in thw history of World Cup qualifiers. He has broken the record of Guatemala’s Carlos Ruiz who scored 39 goals in the competition. Ronaldo is thus the first player ever to score 40 World Cup Qualifiers goals.
Here are the players with the most goals in World Cup Qualifers:
| Player | Country | Goals |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 41 |
| Carlos Ruiz | Guatemala | 39 |
| Lionel Messi | Argentina | 36 |
| Ali Daei | Iran | 35 |
| Robert Lewandowski | Poland | 33 |
Have Portugal Qualified For FIFA World Cup?
Portugal have not yet qualified for the FIFA World Cup 2026, despite leading the Group F of the European World Cup Qualifiers with 10 points from 4 games. If they had won against Hundary, then the team would have gained early entry into the mega tournament that is set to take place in USA, Canada and Mexico next year.
Portugal will now have to look for a win in their next World Cup 2026 Qualifier match against Ireland on November 14 to qualify for the tournament.