Ronaldo to join exclusive World Cup group as Portugal hero eyes more records

There were fears the 37-year-old Manchester United superstar would be denied a final World Cup appearance as his nation were forced to qualify via the play-offs.

But two goals from Red Devils teammate Bruno Fernandes on Tuesday night will have Ronaldo looking at more records for his extraordinary collection.

Qatar 2022 will represent a fifth World Cup for the legendary forward - which will be the joint-most appearances alongside Mexico duo Antonio Carbajal and Rafael Marquez and Germany legend Lothar Matthaus.

And, given Ronaldo's remarkable physical condition, we certainly wouldn't put it past him breaking that record aged 41 in 2026.

Ronaldo has the most goals at the European Championship as of last summer, reaching 14, but with seven World Cup strikes to his name, the Portgual star has some way to go if he wants to beat Miroslav Klose's tally of 16.

Meanwhile, Cameroon legend Roger Milla's position as the competition's oldest ever goalscorer is safe for now after his strike at the 1994 tournament, aged 42.

Nevertheless, Ronaldo can surpass Ghana icon Asamoah Gyan as the man to score in the most consecutive major tournaments.

The pair are currently level on nine, while Ronaldo can make it ten with a goal at this winter's competition, having scored in every edition of the Euros and the World Cup since 2004.

Ronaldo, of course, will also be bidding for World Cup glory to complete his incredible trophy haul and cement his place as one of football's greatest ever players.

The Man United hero's first World Cup goal came in a 2-0 win over Iran at Germany 2006 and he followed that up in 2010 with a goal in the 7-0 demolition of North Korea.

He also scored a late winner against Ghana during the 2014 World Cup.

However, it was the 2018 competition in which he truly shone for Portugal.

A Selecao played their neighbours Spain in Group B and Ronaldo stole the show with a sublime hat-trick.

First, he won a penalty in the opening five minutes that he dispatched past David de Gea. He added to the Spaniard's problems just before the half-time whistle as he blasted a shot through the United goalkeeper.

And he saved the best until last as he curled a delightful free-kick over the wall into the net to salvage a point for his country late on.

This was a special performance from Ronaldo and he added another strike in a 1-0 win over Morocco to end the tournament with four goals.