Cristiano Ronaldo chasing world record held by former Guatemala forward as Portugal begin 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign against Armenia

Cristiano Ronaldo is eyeing another record as Portugal face Armenia in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers on Saturday, September 6. He will look to go beyond Guatemala's Carlos Ruiz as the all-time top goalscorer in World Cup Qualifiers.

Cristiano Ronaldo has broken innumerable goalscoring records in his career so far. He is the all-time top goalscorer in men's football with 940 for club and country. He is also Portugal's leading goalscorer with 138 goals and 45 assists in 221 games.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has scored 36 goals in 47 World Cup qualifying appearances. This makes him the top scorer in UEFA and the European leaderboard, but not in the world.

Former Guatemala striker Carlos Ruiz scored 39 goals in World Cup Qualifiers from 2002 to 2018. Incidentally, Guatemala never qualified for the Mundial during that period. Cristiano Ronaldo will look to break that record.

Portugal have six more World Cup Qualifiers remaining ahead of the 2026 edition. They will face Armenia at the Vazgen Sargsyan Republican Stadium on Saturday, September 6. In the remaining matches, they will face Hungary twice, Ireland twice, and Armenia one more time.

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Liverpool icon claims Cristiano Ronaldo should not play for Portugal at 2026 FIFA World Cup

Former Liverpool right-back Steve Nicol believes Cristiano Ronaldo should not be starting for Portugal at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. He compared Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's impact on their respective national teams. He believes Messi, 38, still has the ability to help Argentina win games.

Nicol said on ESPN FC:

“He [Messi] should be [playing] at the World Cup. When you get to the latter stages of the career, when you’re 38-39, things do start going [against you] and then you start questioning yourself. But when you have the ability that he has, why would you not have him coming off the bench [at least]?

“I have not heard one person say, ‘Messi can’t do this’ or ‘Messi is not doing that now’. Absolutely, [I don’t think Ronaldo can do many things he did in the past]. They are two completely different footballers. and Ronaldo as great a finisher he is, relies a lot on the physical side of the game. Messi does not rely as much on the physical side of the game. He does his damage in little tight areas, and little split seconds, picking a pass and putting the ball in the net."

Nicol added:

“Ronaldo should not be starting for Portugal. We are not saying that about Lionel Messi. We’re not saying Messi shouldn’t start for Argentina, so the fact that he is, and he has shown no signs [of decline] in an Argentina jersey, means that he should be there [at the World Cup]. I don’t think there’s any argument.”

Cristiano Ronaldo helped Portugal win the UEFA Nations League in the summer this year. He scored a goal each in the semi-finals and the final against Germany and Spain, respectively.