At home at Jose Alvalade, coach Roberto Martinez's team entered the match confidently but was soon "cold-shouldered" when Attila Szalai took advantage of a mistake by goalkeeper Diogo Costa to open the score for Hungary in the 9th minute.
However, it did not take long for the "European Selecao" to respond. In the 22nd minute, Cristiano Ronaldo chose a smart position to receive a pass from Nelson Semedo, easily taping the ball into the close goal to equalize 1-1. Right in the first half's extra time, the 39-year-old superstar continued to shine with a smart move and a close-range header from Nuno Mendes, raising the score to 2-1.
With this double, Ronaldo officially became the player with the most goals in the history of the World Cup qualifiers - 41 goals, surpassing Carlos Ruiz (39) and far surpassing Lionel Messi (36). In addition, he also holds the record for the most goals scored by the national team (143 goals), 29 goals more than Messi.
However, Portugal's joy was not complete. Despite creating a series of opportunities with shots from Ruben Neves and Bruno Fernandes, the home team was still punished by Dominik Szoboszlai in the 90+2 minute with a close-range tap-in, setting the score at 2-2.
This result caused Portugal to miss the opportunity to qualify early for the 2026 World Cup, when they were still 5 points ahead of Hungary and had 2 matches in hand. However, Ronaldo's brilliant performance once again affirmed that he is still an irreplaceable leader, even at the age of 40.
If he continues to maintain his current scoring efficiency, Ronaldo can completely get closer to the iconic milestone - 1,000 goals in his career - something that no modern player has been able to do.
