Cristiano Ronaldo Hunts Down History After Leaving Lionel Messi in the Dust
"Records don't pursue me," Cristiano Ronaldo has repeatedly emphasized in recent times. "I pursue them naturally."
The statistical achievements seem to arrive swiftly. A double strike from Ronaldo during Portugal's commanding 5–0 victory over Armenia on Saturday evening delivered the seasoned international another scoring achievement to celebrate.
Ronaldo now possesses an impressive collection of 38 strikes in World Cup qualifying matches, surpassing the 36 that Lionel Messi has accumulated for Argentina. While eclipsing his longtime rival, Ronaldo hasn't quite claimed the absolute record—not yet. Former Guatemalan striker Carlos Ruiz, an elusive player known as "The Little Fish," accumulated an unmatched 39 strikes during multiple Concacaf qualifying rounds, according to IFFHS.
Despite this remarkable achievement, Ruiz never managed to guide Guatemala to a World Cup—not even to a playoff for tournament qualification.
All-Time Leading Scorers in World Cup Qualifying
Player | Nation | Goals |
|---|---|---|
1. Carlos Ruiz | Guatemala | 39 |
2. Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 38 |
T-3 Lionel Messi | Argentina | 36 |
T-3 Ali Daei | Iran | 36 |
5. Robert Lewandowski | Poland | 31 |
T-6 Luis Suárez | Uruguay | 29 |
T-6 Sardar Azmoun | Iran | 29 |
Statistics accurate as of Sep. 6, 2025.
Messi will likely never get another opportunity to regain his advantage over Ronaldo in this specific statistic. The Argentine recently completed his final competitive match on Argentine soil and announced he wouldn't participate in Argentina's upcoming journey to Ecuador. Significant uncertainty surrounds whether Messi will participate in the 2026 World Cup, much less the qualifying process for the 2030 competition.
Ronaldo, conversely, is just beginning his pursuit.
Following Portugal's advancement to the Nations League final—which they captured after Ronaldo's decisive strike in the championship match—Roberto Martínez's squad still has five qualifying encounters remaining. With matches against Hungary, the Republic of Ireland, and a home fixture versus Armenia approaching, Ronaldo should easily surpass Ruiz's benchmark.
The prolific goalscorer already holds the record for most international strikes across all competitions in football history and remains focused on next summer's World Cup tournament.
Despite all his strikes in the preliminary stages of the global competition, Ronaldo's performance on the main stage is somewhat less impressive. The 40-year-old has participated in five World Cups representing Portugal, yet none of his eight tournament goals came during the elimination rounds.
Ronaldo's finest World Cup performance remains his debut appearance, when Portugal fell to France in the 2006 semifinals. The European nation has been eliminated in the round of 16 twice (2010, 2018) surrounding a particularly disappointing group stage elimination in 2014. In Qatar, Ronaldo was notably relegated to the bench as Portugal was knocked out by Morocco in the quarterfinals.