Goatee & goals turn this into Cristiano Ronaldo's World Cup
Ronaldo's 85th goal moved him one ahead of Ferenc Puskas into sole possession of second on the career international scoring list, trailing only Ali Daei's 109 goals for Iran. He broke free of defender Manuel Da Costa and leaned low for a header from the top of the 6-yard box.
His celebration was a ballet that would have made George Balanchine proud. Ronaldo ran toward a corner flag, and pounded the number 7 on his jersey twice — not the team crest. He jumped and twirled his right hand three times before landing with arms spread like a seagull's wings, mouth open.
"It was beautiful for me," Ronaldo said after FIFA presented him with his second straight man of the match award.
He already has surpassed Pele and Diego Maradona in one measure. Ronaldo has an airport named after him — Aeroporto da Madeira, on the island near his birthplace in Funchal. There may be debate over the GOAT, but Ronaldo definitely is FNC — the airport's three-letter code. He's so notorious that when an odd-looking statue of Ronaldo by sculptor Emanuel Santos was unveiled at the airport's renaming ceremony last year, it earned a lampooning by Kate McKinnon on NBC's "Saturday Night Live."Later in the year, he dyed his hair gold before accepting the Ballon d'Or — golden ball. He hasn't been available to discuss his scoring, or even his chin stroking and new fuzz. After the match, he walked past reporters without stopping while holding a mobile phone to an ear. Ronaldo later said during a television interview he didn't shave his chin before last week's game against Spain and promised teammate Ricardo Quaresma that if he scored he would keep the goatee throughout the tournament.