Ronaldo international carrier: part 3

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In Portugal's opening match of the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup against Mexico on 17 June, Cristiano Ronaldo set-up Quaresma's opening goal in a 2–2 draw.[348] Three days later, he scored in a 1–0 win over hosts Russia.[349] On 24 June, he scored from a penalty in a 4–0 win over New Zealand, which saw Portugal top their group and advance to the semi-finals of the competition. With his 75th international goal, Ronaldo also equalled Sándor Kocsis as the second-highest European international goalscorer of all-time, behind only Ferenc Puskás.[350][351] He was named man of the match in all three of Portugal's group stage matches.[352] Ronaldo left the competition early: after Chile defeated Portugal 3–0 on penalties in the semi-finals, he was allowed to return home to be with his newborn children.[353] Therefore, he missed Portugal's third-place play-off match in which Portugal defeated Mexico 2–1 after extra time.[354]

Ronaldo evades an Iran defender in the group stage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup

On 31 August 2017, Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in a 5–1 win in a World Cup qualifier over the Faroe Islands, which saw him overtake Pelé and equal Hussein Saeed as the joint-fifth-highest goalscorer in international football with 78 goals.[355] These goals brought his tally in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers to 14, equalling Predrag Mijatović's record for most goals in a single UEFA senior men's qualifying campaign, and also saw him break the record for the most goals scored in a single European qualifying group, overtaking the previous record of 13 goals set by David Healy and Robert Lewandowski. Ronaldo's hat-trick took his World Cup qualifying goals total to 29, making him the highest scorer in European World Cup qualifiers, ahead of Andriy Shevchenko, and the highest goalscorer in World Cup qualifying and finals matches combined, with 32 goals, ahead of Miroslav Klose.[356] Ronaldo later added to this tally by scoring a goal against Andorra in a 2–0 victory.[357]

In the build-up to the 2018 World Cup, Portugal hosted friendlies against Tunisia, Belgium and Algeria. Ronaldo featured in the final of the three matches in which he made his 150th international appearance.[358] On 15 June 2018, Ronaldo became the oldest player ever to score a hat-trick in a World Cup match, helping Portugal secure a 3–3 draw against Spain in their opening match at the World Cup. In doing so, he also became the first Portuguese player to score a goal in four World Cups and one of four players to do so in total.[359] His third goal saw him curl in a 30-yard free kick with two minutes remaining for the equaliser.[360] His hat-trick also drew him level with Ferenc Puskás as the highest European goalscorer of all-time, with 84 international goals.[361] In Portugal's second game on 20 June, Ronaldo scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory against Morocco, breaking Puskás' record.[13] In the final group match against Iran on 25 June, Ronaldo missed a penalty in an eventual 1–1 draw which saw Portugal progress to the second round as group runners-up behind Spain.[362] On 30 June, Portugal were eliminated following a 2–1 defeat to Uruguay in the last 16.[363] For his performances throughout the tournament, Ronaldo was later named to the 2018 FIFA World Cup Dream Team.[364]

2018–present: Brief hiatus, and Nations League title

After the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo missed six international matches, including the entire league phase of the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League. Ronaldo played for hosts Portugal in the inaugural Nations League Finals in June 2019. In the semi-finals on 5 June, he scored a hat-trick against Switzerland to secure a spot in the final. Upon netting the match's opening goal, he became the first player to score in 10 consecutive international competitions, breaking the record of nine he previously shared with Ghana's Asamoah Gyan.[365] In the final of the tournament four days later, Portugal defeated Netherlands 1–0.[366]

On 10 September 2019, Ronaldo scored four goals in a 5–1 away win over Lithuania in a Euro 2020 qualifying match;[367] in the process, he overtook Robbie Keane (23 goals) as the player with most goals in the UEFA European Championship qualifiers, setting a new record with 25 goals.[368] On that occasion, Ronaldo also set a new record as the player who scored against the most national teams, 40,[369] while also completing his eighth international hat-trick.[370] On 14 October, he scored his 700th senior career goal for club and country from the penalty spot, in his 974th senior career appearance, a 2–1 away loss to Ukraine in a Euro 2020 qualifier.[371] On 17 November, Ronaldo scored his 99th international goal in a 2–0 win over Luxembourg, leading Portugal to qualify for Euro 2020.[372]

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Most hard working guy ever

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Gd

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Nice article dear💖

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