Ronaldo denied golden opportunity to surpass Messi, Son Heung-min brings sadness to the US host team

Ronaldo was denied a golden opportunity to surpass Messi by coach Roberto Martinez when he was taken off nearly 30 minutes early, preventing him from surpassing his opponent's record of 10 hat-tricks. On the same day, Son Heung-min upset the host team, the US.

Ronaldo has scored 942 goals in his career

"The first step has been taken," Ronaldo said in a message posted on social network X, after he and the Portuguese team started the 2026 World Cup qualifying round in Europe with a resounding 5-0 victory over Armenia (ranked 105th in the world ) on September 7. In this match, the 40-year-old player scored a double, the remaining goals were scored by Joao Felix (also scored a double) and Cancelo.

Ronaldo was not really happy when he was substituted early by coach Roberto Martinez

Photo: Reuters

Ronaldo scored two goals for the Portuguese team in the 21st and 46th minutes. He could have completed his hat-trick in the match with time remaining and against a completely inferior opponent. However, for unknown reasons, coach Roberto Martinez took him off and sent in PSG striker Goncalo Ramos when the match still had more than 30 minutes left, Spanish newspaper AS expressed.

"Ronaldo could have completed his 11th hat-trick in international matches after the two goals he scored earlier, if he had continued playing. But this golden opportunity was lost when coach Roberto Martinez made a rather surprising substitution decision, surprising Portuguese fans. Therefore, Ronaldo still has 10 hat-tricks equal to Messi in international matches. Meanwhile, this famous player is consoled by another record of currently owning 38 goals in World Cup qualifying matches, 2 goals more than Messi," AS said.

According to AS : "It is possible that coach Roberto Martinez has calculated Ronaldo's playing time in the Portuguese team with the current age of this famous player. Especially, in the upcoming match they will meet a not-so-easy opponent, the Hungarian team (ranked 38th in the world). The Hungarian team started the match with a 2-2 draw with the Irish team. These will be the two opponents competing for the top spot in Group F with the Portuguese team to win the main spot to attend the 2026 World Cup".

As of September 7, the 2026 World Cup has had one more team qualify for the final round, Morocco, the first team from Africa. There are 17 teams in total, including the three co-hosts, the US, Mexico and Canada, and 14 teams that have qualified. Of these, six are from Asia: Japan, Iran, Uzbekistan, South Korea, Jordan, and Australia; six are from South America: Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Colombia, Uruguay, and Paraguay; one is from Oceania: New Zealand; and one is from Africa: Morocco.

Meanwhile, the host team USA has been in a slump under coach Mauricio Pochettino, as they lost to the South Korean team in a friendly match with a score of 0-2 on September 7.

Son Heung-min, who had just arrived to play in the US, scored the opening goal and created an opportunity for teammate Lee Dong-gyeong to score, causing sadness for the US team. This was the second consecutive loss for the US team after losing to regional rival Mexico 1-2 at the Gold Cup.

Not to mention, in the last 8 matches under coach Mauricio Pochettino, when the US team met opponents in the world's top 30, they only won 1, and lost 7 matches. There is a high possibility that coach Mauricio Pochettino will be fired due to the current great pressure from American fans, because they do not want the 2026 World Cup host team to have to say goodbye early in the group stage.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ronaldo-bi-tu-choi-co-hoi-vang-vuot-messi-son-heung-min-geo-sau-cho-doi-chu-nha-my-185250907084442278.htm