Hat-trick hero Ronaldo thrilled to become 4th player to score in four World Cups as Portugal hold Spain 3-3
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring a penalty against Spain in Sochi on Friday. Pics/Getty Images, AFP
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 Spain in Sochi.
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Cristiano Ronaldo is fouled by Spain's Sergio Busquets on Friday
Elite list
Ronaldo had twice put Portugal in front, and yet he was required to score a superb 88th-minute free-kick to grab a point after Spain had fought back. The forward, 33, 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. "For me the most important thing is to emphasise what the team did against one of the favourites. It was a fair result, we are very happy because the game was about to finish and then we managed to grab a draw," he added.
Cristiano Ronaldo converts a penalty for his first goal
Ronaldo had only scored three goals in total in his last three World Cups, so managed to double his tally in one night here. He has also now scored in eight consecutive major tournaments, going back to Euro 2004, when helped Portugal all the way to the final as hosts.
Spain 'keeper David de Gea blunders to give Ronaldo his second
Friday's hat-trick came just hours after legal sources in Spain said Ronaldo had agreed to pay the Spanish taxman 18.8m euros to settle a tax fraud claim.
Ronaldo (second from left) nets his hat-trick from a free-kick
Focussed Ron
The agreement, which is still to be ratified, will come with a two-year jail term — although sentences of up to two years are not served in Spain. But Ronaldo was clearly not distracted by that. His focus is fully on the World Cup, with Portugal's next match against Morocco next Wednesday. "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."
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