Cristiano Ronaldo denied golden chance to outdo Lionel Messi

Cristiano Ronaldo was among the goals once again as Portugal cruised past Armenia in 2026 World Cup qualifying, but he was denied the chance to outdo long-time rival Lionel Messi by national team boss Roberto Martínez.

The former Real Madrid superstar prodded Pedro Neto’s cross into the net to put Portugal 2-0 ahead in the 21st minute in Yerevan. He added a second after halftime, a sublime strike from the edge of the penalty box that made it 4-0.

Ronaldo comes close to another Portugal treble

It seemed as if Portugal could score every time they ventured forward. Ronaldo came agonizingly close to an 11th international hat-trick on two occasions immediately after his second goal.

However, the Al Nassr striker was replaced by PSG’s Gonçalo Ramos with more than 30 minutes still left to play. At 41, Ronaldo’s game time is being carefully managed, especially with Portugal set to face Hungary on Tuesday in what is expected to be their toughest qualifier.

Ronaldo stays level with Messi

Ronaldo therefore remains on 10 international hat-tricks, the same as Messi. With both players approaching the end of their illustrious careers, there are unlikely to be many more opportunities for either to edge ahead in this particular category.

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