BURAIDAH – The quest for football immortality continues this Friday as Cristiano Ronaldo leads Al-Nassr against Al-Kholood in Round 19 of the Saudi Pro League. While Al-Nassr is focused on closing the five-point gap with leaders Al-Hilal, the eyes of the world are on Ronaldo’s pursuit of his 1,000th career goal.
At 40 years old, the Portuguese legend currently stands at 960 official goals. With 40 goals left to reach the historic milestone, fans are beginning to wonder: could CR7 achieve the feat during the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
The “Race Against Time”
To hit 1,000 goals by the time the World Cup kicks off in the USA, Mexico, and Canada, Ronaldo has approximately 26 matches remaining across club and international play.
- The Math: He needs to maintain a scoring rate of roughly 1.5 goals per game to arrive at the tournament with the record already in hand, or save the final strikes for Group K, where Portugal will face Colombia, Uzbekistan, and a playoff winner.
- The Schedule: This tally could increase if Jorge Jesus’s side advances further in the AFC Champions League knockout stages.
- Al-Kholood vs. Al-Nassr: Match Details
Al-Nassr enters the clash on a three-game winning streak. Jorge Jesus is expected to field a star-studded lineup featuring recent signings and established icons.
- Date: Friday, January 30th
- Time: 8:30 PM local time (12:30 PM EST / 2:30 PM Brasília)
- Venue: Alinma Stadium, Buraidah
Predicted Al-Nassr XI: Bento; Sultan Al-Ghanam, Mohamed Simakan, Iñigo Martínez, Saad Al-Nasser; Abdullah Al-Khaibari, Ali Al-Hassan, Kingsley Coman, Sadio Mané; Cristiano Ronaldo, João Félix.
Siara Costa is a football editor and writer covering both European men’s and women’s football, with a focus on league competitions, match coverage, and in-depth storytelling.
