CRISTIANO RONALDO is in a small group of players to have scored in the last five major competitions involving European teams – which includes two surprising names.
Ronaldo became one of the oldest goalscorers in the tournament in Portugal’s Group H clash with Ghana late last month.
APCristiano Ronaldo’s strike against Ghana saw him become the first player to score in the last five major tournaments[/caption]
GETTYHe was joined by Switzerland’s Xherdan Shaqiri last Friday[/caption]
EPAIvan Perisic joined the pair in the group on Monday with a stooping header against Japan[/caption]
The 37-year-old broke the deadlock in the 65th minute from the penalty spot and lit the blue touch paper in what turned out to be a 3-2 thriller.
And the goal – his sole strike of the tournament so far – saw him write his name in the history books.
Ronaldo’s 118th goal for the Portuguese saw him become the first player to have scored in the last three World Cups and the last two European Championships.
Ronaldo previously found the back of the net in the 2014 and 2018 World Cups, scoring against Ghana, Spain and Morocco.
He also scored against Hungary and Wales at Euro 2016 and found the back of the net against the Hungarians, Germany and France at Euro 2020.
It wasn’t long, however, before Ronaldo was joined in the exclusive club.
Switzerland’s Xherdan Shaqiri joined him in the group on Friday thanks to his strike against Serbia.
And Croatia’s Ivan Perisic became the third member of the group with a stooping header in Croatia’s last-16 win over Japan on Monday.
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Ronaldo will be hoping to add to his tally in Portugal’s clash with Switzerland this evening.
But his participation in the match is up in the air following his strop at being substituted against South Korea.
Portugal manager Fernando Santos said: “Have I seen the images?
“Yes, I didn’t like it, not at all.
“I didn’t like it. I really didn’t like it. But from that moment onwards everything is finished regarding that issue.
APRonaldo will hope to add to his World Cup tally against Switzerland tonight[/caption]
“These matters are resolved behind closed doors.
“It’s resolved. Full stop on this matter and now everyone is focused on tomorrow’s match.”