The next record Cristiano Ronaldo can break as Portugal begin FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying campaign against Armenia
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Updated 06/09/2025 at 14:34 GMT+1
Cristiano Ronaldo returns to action with Portugal this weekend as the 2025 UEFA Nations League winners face Armenia in their first qualifying match for the 2026 World Cup. The 40-year-old, who is international football's leading goalscorer, has his eye on yet another record during the upcoming campaign as he hopes to power his team towards the tournament in North America next summer.
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Another round of international fixtures sees Cristiano Ronaldo gunning for yet another record on the world stage.
Even at the age of 40, there is no letting up for the Portuguese superstar, who recently netted a milestone 100th competitive goal for Al-Nassr.
This latest strike for the Saudi Pro League side meant he has become the first player to hit a century of goals for four different clubs, having previously achieved the feat at Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus.
Ronaldo also has 138 goals for Portugal, making him the top scorer in men’s international football and as Portugal kick off their FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying campaign this week, he will be looking to add to that total.
While he has 36 goals from 47 games in previous World Cup qualifiers to put him at the top of the tree as far as UEFA and European qualifying is concerned, he is not quite there globally.
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In the top-scoring ranks in World Cup qualifying history, Ronaldo currently sits three behind Guatemala’s Carlos Ruiz, who scored 39 times across five qualifying campaigns for tournaments from 2002 through 2018, as per IFFHS.
Remarkably, Ruiz and Guatemala failed to qualify for any of those tournaments.
Although it remains to be seen if Ronaldo will continue to be a part of the Portugal setup beyond 2026, he will be confident of chasing down Ruiz’s record during the current qualification campaign.
Who will Portugal and Ronaldo face in the World Cup 2026 qualifiers?
The 2025 UEFA Nations League winners face Armenia, Hungary and Republic of Ireland home and away as they look to reach next summer’s tournament in North America.
They begin with trips to Armenia and Hungary in this international break, before welcoming Ireland and hosting the Hungarians in their return match.
The November fixtures see them travel to Ireland before finishing up with Armenia at home.
Portugal World Cup 2026 qualifying fixtures
| Fixture | Date |
| Armenia (A) | September 6 |
| Hungary (A) | September 9 |
| Republic of Ireland (H) | October 11 |
| Hungary (H) | October 14 |
| Republic of Ireland (A) | November 13 |
| Armenia (H) | November 16 |
What is Ronaldo’s record against the teams in Portugal’s qualifying group?
Ronaldo has previously scored six goals against Hungary, with two of these strikes coming in World Cup qualifiers.
The other four have been at European Championship tournaments, in 2016 and 2021.
Against Armenia, he has five goals, including a hat-trick in the qualifiers for Euro 2016.
Ireland have also previously suffered at Ronaldo’s hands, with the Portuguese star scoring four times against them in the past.
The most notable of these goals was a brace in qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup, in which he scored twice in the dying minutes to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 victory.
These goals were also significant in that they saw him surpass Ali Daei as the all-time top-scorer in men’s international football.
Cristiano Ronaldo's complete international goalscoring record by opponent
| Team | Goals |
| Luxembourg | 11 |
| Lithuania | 7 |
| Sweden | 7 |
| Andorra | 6 |
| Hungary | 6 |
| Armenia | 5 |
| Latvia | 5 |
| Switzerland | 5 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 4 |
| Denmark | 4 |
| Estonia | 4 |
| Faroe Islands | 4 |
| Netherlands | 4 |
| Poland | 4 |
| Republic of Ireland | 4 |
| Spain | 4 |
| Belgium | 3 |
| Liechtenstein | 3 |
| Northern Ireland | 3 |
| Russia | 3 |
| Slovakia | 3 |
| Azerbaijan | 2 |
| Cameroon | 2 |
| Croatia | 2 |
| Cyprus | 2 |
| Czech Republic | 2 |
| Egypt | 2 |
| France | 2 |
| Germany | 2 |
| Ghana | 2 |
| Iceland | 2 |
| Kazakhstan | 2 |
| Saudi Arabia | 2 |
| Argentina | 1 |
| Ecuador | 1 |
| Finland | 1 |
| Greece | 1 |
| Iran | 1 |
| Israel | 1 |
| Morocco | 1 |
| New Zealand | 1 |
| North Korea | 1 |
| Panama | 1 |
| Qatar | 1 |
| Scotland | 1 |
| Serbia | 1 |
| Ukraine | 1 |
| Wales | 1 |
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