Doha: In a tantalizing match, Portugal defeated the Black stars of Ghana to win their first group-stage match. The veteran 37-year-old scored the very first goal of the match through a penalty. The goal made him the first man to score a goal in five different World Cups, not the first player. Cristiano Ronaldo is not even the second.
The first player to score in five different World Cups is the one and only Martha Vierra de Silva. Martha Silva is a Brazilian legend who plays for Orlando Pride in the National women’s Soccer League. She started for Brazil in the 2003 World Cup. Her first goal came against South Korea. In the 2007 World Cup, Martha scored 7 goals, and in 2011 4 goals. In the next tournament, she scored just one goal. On 13th June 2019, Martha added the record to her name. With a tantalizing goal against the Socceroos, she became the first player to score at least one goal in five different World Cups.
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Christine Sinclair of Canada is the second to achieve the feat. Alike, Martha, Sinclair debuted at a World Cup in 2003. The 33-year-old player managed four goals in her first tournament. In 2007, Sinclair bagged 3 while she scored just a goal in 2011. In 2015, she scored twice. Just days later after Martha’s record-setting goal, Sinclair braced a perfect goal against the Dutch to become the second player to score at least a goal in five different World Cups.
The third on the list would be Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese forward managed to score 7 goals in World Cup till 2018. He has scored at least one in every World Cup starting from 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018.
It is of utmost importance to be clear while speaking about certain things. The forgotten name isn’t some random person, it is Martha. The greatest women’s football player, one who has been honored and praised by Pele himself. Getting it wrong is okay, but to undermine women’s football and continue to chant the Ronaldo name is not okay.
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