At the José Alvalade Stadium in Lisbon, Ronaldo scored in the 22nd minute of the fourth round of Group F, surpassing Carlos Ruiz, the now-retired Guatemala striker who shared the top scorer spot with the Portuguese national team captain with 39.

After his brace against Armenia and another goal in Hungary, the 40-year-old striker, who had drawn a blank against Ireland in a match where he missed a penalty, returned to the scoring charts and reinforced his astronomical tally for Portugal, now with 225 appearances and 142 goals.

With 36 goals, Messi remains third on this list and, at 38, is virtually certain not to play in another World Cup qualifier with Argentina. Meanwhile, Poland's Robert Lewandowski, with 33 goals and 37 years of age, is also unlikely to threaten Ronaldo.

A very different scenario is already unfolding for Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood, who has 29 goals for New Zealand and, at 33, could still have another qualification ahead of him, even in an area of ​​Oceania where the New Zealanders are completely dominant.

The same is true for Sardar Azmoun, a 30-year-old striker who will certainly try to help Iran secure a spot in the 2030 World Cup, which will be held in Portugal, Spain, and Morocco. Like Wood, the Iranian has 29 goals, and anything will be possible in the upcoming Asian qualification.

Before his goal against Ireland, Ronaldo already held the continental record in Europe, but now he's back to the top spot at the global level, having become the player in football history with the most caps and most goals.

The Madeira-born player is also the all-time top scorer in European Championship qualifying (41 goals) and finals (14), but the challenge to catch Miroslav Klose in World Cups already seems nearly impossible.

The former German striker, currently coach of Nuremberg in the German second division, holds the all-time World Cup record with 16 goals, while Ronaldo has scored eight in five World Cup appearances.

- List of the 10 highest scorers in World Cup qualifying (official FIFA figures):

  • Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), 40 goals in 51 matches.
  • Carlos Ruiz (Guatemala), 39 goals in 47 matches.
  • Lionel Messi (Argentina), 36 goals in 72 matches.
  • Ali Daei (Iran), 35 goals in 41 matches.
  • Robert Lewandowski (Poland), 33 goals in 42 games.
  • Chris Wood (New Zealand), 29 goals in 31 games.
  • Sardar Azmoun (Iran), 29 goals in 41 games.
  • Edin Dzeko (Bosnia and Herzegovina), 29 goals in 42 games.
  • Luis Suarez (Uruguay), 29 goals in 64 games.
  • Karim Bagheri (Iran), 28 goals in 29 games.