World Cup has just begun, says hattrick hero Ronaldo Why Gyan feels ‘cheated’ after Ronaldo’s feat
CR7 happy to bag another record in 33 draw with Spain but insists job still left
SOCHI: Cristiano Ronaldo expressed his delight at setting another record in his remarkable career as his hat-trick against Spain on Friday allowed him to become just the fourth player to score in four World Cups.
“I am very happy, it’s a nice personal record to have, one more in my career,” said the Portugal captain, whose goals secured a 3-3 draw for the European champions in a remarkable World Cup Group B clash with neighbours Spain in Sochi.
Ronaldo had twice put Portugal in front, and yet he was required to score a superb 88thminute free-kick to grab a point after Spain had fought back brilliantly. He joins an elite cast of players who have scored in four World Cups, following in the footsteps of Pele and German duo Uwe Seeler and Miroslav Klose. But he added: “For me the most important thing is to emphasise what the team did against one of the favourites to win this World Cup. It was a fair result, we are very happy because the game was about to finish and then we managed to grab a draw.”
Ronaldo had only scored three goals in total in his last three World Cups. He has also now scored in eight consecutive major tournaments, going back to Euro 2004, when as a teenager he helped Portugal all the way to the final as hosts. “The World Cup has only just begun. Portugal are hoping to get through the first round, and we know how hard the group stage is,” he said.
“We are not the favourites but we are contenders and we will do as well as we can.” Ronaldo is the fourth to score in four different World Cups (2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018) after Pele, Uwe Seeler and Miroslav Klose.
At 33 years and 130 days, Ronaldo is the oldest hattrick scorer in World Cup. Previous oldest was Rob Rensenbrink in June 1978 for the Netherlands against Iran (30y 335d).
This was Ronaldo’s 51st hattrick for club and country, while it was also the 51st hattrick scored in the history of the World Cup.
Ronaldo’s third goal was his first direct free-kick goal at a major tournament for Portugal – it was his 45th attempt from a free-kick.
Spain have now won their opening World Cup match in just two of their last 13 editions (D4 L7 – 2002, 2006). Cristiano Ronaldo 4 pen, 44, 88 Diego Costa 24, 55; Nacho
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New Delhi
Cristiano Ronaldo’s hattrick against Spain in Portugal’s opening Group B match in the FIFA World Cup 2018 on Friday night earned him plaudits from fans and pundits alike.
Not only did his hattrick salvage a point for Portugal in the thrilling game, it was reported that his goals made him the first player to score in eight consecutive international tournaments. However, Ronaldo is not the first man to achieve this feat. Ghana national football team skipper Asamoah Gyan, who has played for Sunderland and Udinese, among others, in his club career, was the first player to reach the mark, in 2015.
Gyan has, in fact, scored at least once in nine consecutive tournaments – from FIFA World Cup 2006 to 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, meaning he stands ahead of Ronaldo.
‘NOT FAIR’
Given the nature of his achievement, it was understandable that Gyan was miffed that Ronaldo was being credited for a feat that he achieved first.
“People disregard my achievements in the World Cup history but I want the whole world to know that I have not been given the fair shake but records will remain forever,” he wrote on Twitter.
Gyan has scored 51 goals in 105 games for Ghana. The divine was followed by the disastrous as the two greatest players in the world started work in Russia one day after the other.
Even by his exalted standards, Cristiano Ronaldo got off to a flying start against Spain. I am not much of a drinking man but looking at him in a claret shirt on a Friday night made me think of a bottle of red that has aged really well. That made Lionel Messi’s start even more of a study in contrast.
To understand why that happened, we need to see how Ronaldo and Messi’s opponents