DOHA, Qatar (AFP) — Cristiano Ronaldo rewrote the history books again on Thursday after becoming the first man to score at five World Cups with the opening goal in Portugal’s tight 3-2 win over Ghana.
The 37-year-old set the record with a 65th-minute penalty at the 974 Stadium in Doha, helping Fernando Santos’ team to a victory which moved them top of Group H, two points ahead of Uruguay and South Korea.
Joao Felix and rising star Rafael Leao then made sure of the win after Andre Ayew’s leveller had briefly threatened to ruin Ronaldo’s party.
Osman Bukari netted in the final minute for Ghana but the tournament’s lowest-ranked side couldn’t pull off a shock and sit bottom of the group.
Ronaldo overtakes Pele and Germans Uwe Seeler and Miroslav Klose, who all scored in four World Cups, after being brought down by Mohammed Salisu and taking the penalty himself.
But Ghana coach Otto Addo said the decision was to award the penalty was “a special gift from the referee” Ismail Elfath as he thought Ronaldo fouled Salisu.
Addo’s Portugal counterpart Fernando Santos then said he wouldn’t “make any comment on what my colleague said,” before insisting that had it not been a foul the VAR officials would have informed Elfath on the pitch.
“We should also give credit to Ghana because they also played very well,” Santos said of his spirited opponents.
“Now it’s time for us to rest and after the rest we will have a conversation to take stock of the match.”
Manchester United announced this week that Ronaldo will leave with immediate effect after he criticised the club and manager Erik ten Hag in a TV interview.
And Ronaldo later said that a “chapter is closed” following his bitter departure from Old Trafford, despite a far from vintage performance from the ageing icon.
All the attention pre-match was on Ronaldo and whether he could break the record and he had the perfect chance to do so in the 10th minute.
Mohammed Kudus gave the ball away sloppily in midfield and Otavio slipped Ronaldo through, only for the once clinical finisher to miscontrol the pass and clatter into Ghana goalkeeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi as he tried to recover and poke home.
