Cristiano Ronaldo to visit White House
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Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t play in Portugal’s latest World Cup qualifier, but he still became the talk of the internet. The 40-year-old striker shared a celebratory photo on social media after Portugal’s 9-1 win against Armenia,
Ronaldo has featured at all of those so far except the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea. He has made 22 appearances for Portugal at World Cups, putting him fifth on the all-time list behind, Italy’s Paulo Maldini (23), Germany’s Miroslav Klose (24), Lothar Matthaus (25) and Messi (26).
Under the current ruling, Cristiano Ronaldo will be unavailable for Portugal’s final World Cup qualifier against Armenia on Sunday.
Here is an overview of Ronaldo’s World Cup record since his debut in the competition back in 2006. The Portuguese was merely a burgeoning star at Manchester United when the 2006 World Cup rolled around, with Ronaldo only beginning to mature from a flashy winger to a forward drenched in substance.
He last played in the U.S. on August 2, 2014, when he came on as a substitute for Real Madrid against Manchester United in front of a crowd of 109,318 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. He last played for Portugal in the U.S. earlier that summer in a friendly game against the Republic of Ireland at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
Cristiano Ronaldo has sent a message of support to his Portugal team-mates ahead of their meeting with Armenia. The Selecao currently top Group F ahead of the final round of World Cup qualification games but defeat to Ireland on Thursday means they need to win to book their trip stateside next summer.
Portugal qualified for their 14th major tournament in a row last night, rubber-stamping their place at World Cup 2026 in style with a 9-1 trouncing of Armenia at Estádio do Dragão, in Porto.
Martinez attributes Ronaldo's reaction to provocation from opposition players. Martinez said, "I saw that Cristiano's reaction was a reaction to provocation. And it was a provocation that started at the beginning of the game, every time Cristiano was in the box with their defenders...'