Portugal legend Cristiano Ronaldo was forced to wait for his record-breaking World Cup goal by MLS referee Ismail Elfath.
Ronaldo came into Qatar 2022 on the verge of history, fully expecting to become the first ever player to score at five different FIFA World Cups.
He briefly thought that his crowning moment had arrived in the 30th minute of Thursday’s Group H game against Ghana.
Ronaldo rolled Alexander Djiku before finishing sweetly from a tricky angle.
But Elfath, who has been an MLS official since 2012 and a FIFA-listed referee since 2016, had blown his whistle just as the ball was flying past Ghana keeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi.
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Elfath’s judgement was that Ronaldo had nudged his body into Djiku’s too forcefully and he therefore awarded a free-kick to Ghana.
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo pictured (left) shooting past Ghana goalkeeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi but his goal was disallowed for an earlier foul
IMAGO/PA Images/Adam Davy
Ronaldo had earlier missed two big opportunities to give Portugal the lead.
A poor touch saw him thwarted by the Ghana keeper after 10 minutes of Thursday’s game.
Ronaldo then headed wide at the far post following a good cross from Raphael Guerreiro.
