Cristiano Ronaldo hit new records in Friday’s Portugal tie against Spain, his first match in World Cup 2018.
The Real Madrid striker found the back of the net few minutes into the match.
After just two minutes, Ronaldo won a penalty off club team-mate Nacho and made no mistake in executing the spot-kick himself, sending David de Gea the wrong way.
The goal was the fastest in a World Cup game since 1966, when Jose Augusto scored after 1:35 against Hungary and also sealed an incredible record of consistency over Ronaldo’s career.
Ronaldo has now scored in eight consecutive major international tournaments – including World Cups, European Championships and Copas America – a feat no European or South American player has ever achieved before.
He also becomes the fourth man to score in four World Cup finals, having previously netted in 2006, 2010 and 2014.
Only Brazil’s Pele and Germany duo Uwe Seeler and Miroslav Klose can boast a comparable record on the world’s biggest football stage.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 51st career hat-trick (club and country), and his treble was also the 51st hat-trick scored in World Cup history.
