39-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo is on the brink of yet another impressive record. The former Real Madrid and Manchester United attacker could become the first player to score in six European Championships with a goal against Czech in Portugal’s first group game, Soccernet.football reports.
Ronaldo is the all-time leading goal scorer in the European Championships with 14 goals. He scored his first international goal at Euro 2004, finished as the second-highest scorer of the tournament in 2016 when Portugal triumphed over France, and secured the Golden Boot at Euro 2020 with five goals.
Currently the only player to have scored in five European Championships, a goal in Germany would make him the first to score in six European Championships and further extend his lead in the goalscoring charts.
Ronaldo enters the tournament in sparkling form, having notched 41 goals in 40 appearances for Saudi Pro League side Al Nassr this season. It’s only fair to say that with this kind of form, it’s all but guaranteed that the legendary forward will get his record-extending goal in Germany.
Portugal will lock horns with the likes of Czech, Turkiye and Georgia in Group F and many have tipped the Euro 2016 winners to finish on top of the group. However, their group stage performances in recent editions of the Euros gives some cause for concern.
In the last two tournaments, Portugal finished third in their groups. In 2016, they failed to win a single group match, while in 2020, they managed one victory against Hungary, needing three goals in the final six minutes to secure the win.
Elsewhere in Group F, Georgia are making their debut at a major international tournament. They qualified for the 2024 European Championships through the playoffs where they overcame both Luxembourg and Greece.
Expectations will not be high in Germany, in fact, few would have backed them to even qualify for the competition. However, this Georgia side are full of surprises and they will certainly be looking to cause an upset in Group F while making the most of a rare appearance at an international tournament.