Euro 2020: Ronaldo set for historic goal against Belgium

Cristiano Ronaldo is set to make history tonight when Belgium face Portugal in the round of 16 of the ongoing 2020 European championship in Seville, Spain.

The match is billed to kick off at 8:00pm Nigeria time, and aside from his aspiration to ensure Portugal advance in their bid to defend the title they won in 2016, Ronaldo, keeps a date with history too in Seville.

Ronaldo on Wednesday scored a brace in the 2-2 draw with France in a Euro 2020 group F game to equal Iranian striker, Ali Daei’s 109th goal record, and should the five-time Ballon d”Or winner score tonight, he will become all-time scorer in international football with 110 goals.

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Ronaldo is leading the Euro 2020 goals chart with five strikes totalling 109 goals in 178 appearances for Portugal, who are European title holders.

Meanwhile, Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku believes he should now be classified as a world-class striker, as he looks ahead to meeting Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal tonight.Lukaku remains Belgium’s top scorer with 63 in 96 international appearances.

“At his age, he continues to shine and I’m going to try and get as close to his achievements as possible,” Lukaku said of his Portuguese rival, who he added was a major source of inspiration and motivation.

“Oh, I need competition. When someone says he’s better than me, I want to transcend him. Ronaldo wants to be the best at everything, Mbappe also wants to win everything,” Lukaku told reporters.

“I’ve taken a big step. Lewandowski, Benzema and Kane used to be talked about as world-class strikers. For me, those sort of comment was always limited to: ‘He is in shape’. Well, now I’m world class, too. That was my personal goal.”

“It was important to start winning trophies, and the Serie A title with Inter gave me motivation and now I also want to win with the Red Devils. It would be the ultimate recognition for this team. If I play badly I will be really disappointed in myself and the team, because now is the right time to harvest.”

Belgium’s golden generation have been top of the FIFA rankings for almost three years but are without a major tournament triumph, losing in the semi-finals of Russia 2018 to France three years ago.

“We were not mature enough at the World Cup against France. We tried too hard to do well and were beaten. Now we know how to win in many different kinds of ways.”