Everyone had to take their hats off to Cristiano Ronaldo, as the 39-year-old striker shone brightly with a double in the match against Poland (5-1), including a bicycle kick masterpiece.
Ronaldo shines with 2 goals and 1 assist in the win over Poland (5-1)
Ronaldo will turn 40 in just three months. His former Portugal teammate Ruben Amorim has been retired for eight years and is currently busy as the new head coach of Manchester United. Ronaldo is still playing hard, scoring goals and remembering his peak moments.
Early this morning, Ronaldo continued his excellent performance in the match against Poland in the UEFA Nations League. After facing a disciplined defense in the first half, Ronaldo and his teammates scored 5 goals in a row in the second half. Ronaldo increased the score to 2-0 from a successful penalty kick in the 72nd minute. Ten minutes later, the Al Nassr star made a delicate pass for Pedro Neto to run down and increase the score to 4-0.
And Ronaldo’s best moment came in the 87th minute. From Vitinha’s cross, the 39-year-old striker, with his back to goal, performed a bicycle kick that couldn’t have been more perfect. The ball swerved in the opposite direction of Marcin Bulka’s movement, leaving the Polish goalkeeper completely helpless.
Ronaldo’s bicycle kick masterpiece
A Ronaldo masterpiece. This goal recalls the Portuguese star’s classic goal in the 2017/18 Champions League. In the first leg of the quarter-final between Juventus and Real Madrid, Ronaldo made it 2-0 with a bicycle kick from about 11 meters away. That was Ronaldo’s last season in a Real Madrid shirt. The Portuguese striker showed brilliant form with 44 goals/44 matches and helped Real Madrid win the Champions League.
After 6 years, Ronaldo has another equally impressive bicycle kick. Age is clearly just a number for the Portuguese superstar. With a double against Poland, Ronaldo has risen to the top of the scoring list in the UEFA Nations League 2024/25 with 5 goals. He also continues to increase his unprecedented record for the Portuguese national team with 135 goals in 217 matches.
Ronaldo is still the inspiration of the Portuguese national team
The age of 39 cannot stop Ronaldo from doing his favorite job: scoring goals. Since the beginning of the 2024/25 season, the Portuguese striker has scored a total of 15 goals for both Al Nassr (10 goals/15 matches) and the Portuguese national team (5 goals/5 matches). In his entire career, Ronaldo has accumulated 910 goals, far surpassing Messi who has only scored 850 goals. It is also worth mentioning that Messi is in decline for both Inter Miami and the Argentine national team. In the most recent loss to Paraguay, Messi lost the ball 14 times and also got angry with the referee.
With 910 career goals, Ronaldo is still 90 goals away from the great goal of 1000 goals. The fact that the 39-year-old striker has set a goal of 1000 goals shows his perseverance and unceasing desire. At the recent ceremony of the Portuguese Football Federation, where Ronaldo received the “Platinum” award for his great contributions to the national team, the 39-year-old player affirmed that “even if I don’t reach the 1000-goal milestone, I will still be the player with the most goals in history”.
Statistics are no longer important to Ronaldo. At the present time, the 39-year-old striker plays football with all his passion and “lives for the present” as he shared. When Ronaldo kicked a bicycle kick into the Polish net, the TV camera recorded the scene of a boy wearing a Portuguese shirt crying in the stands. That is the biggest reward for Ronaldo. A true legend in football history.
