Qatar World Cup 2022: The unusual stat that proves Portugal and Ronaldo could win coveted trophy

Despite all the buzz around Cristiano Ronaldo's explosive interview with Piers Morgan, the Portuguese talisman would be focused on his country's campaign in the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar. Here's an unusual stat that could work in the legendary striker and his nation's favour in lifting the coveted trophy.

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Since his explosive interview with Piers Morgan, legendary striker Cristiano Ronaldo has been hitting the headlines. Yet, the Portuguese talisman appears to be unfazed by the outburst that surrounds it and is focused on firing his nation to an emphatic win in the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar, which begins on November 20. While CR7 fans would be hoping the 37-year-old lifts the coveted trophy that has eluded him in his illustrious career, here's an interesting statistic that favours Fernando Santos' men.

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In an unusual stat that was proved true in the 2010, 2014 and 2018 editions, it has been observed that the top goalscorer of the European championship prior to a World Cup event in the last three editions has gone on to lift the title along with his national teammates. Will history repeat itself with Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal, given that the five-time Ballon d'Or winner was the top goalscorer in Euro 2020?

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David Villa was the leading goal scorer, with five strikes, in the Euro 2008 edition, and interestingly Spain bagged the World Cup in 2010. Mario Gomez repeated the same feat with three goals in Euro 2010, and Germany went on to win the FIFA World Cup in 2012. Lastly, Antoine Griezmann scored six goals at Euro 2016 and France was crowned world champion in 2018.

The above unusual stat appears to favour Portugal and Ronaldo, who was the leading goalscorer with 14 strikes in the Euro 2020. It will be interesting to see if the goal-scoring machine can recreate this magic in the Gulf nation. Portugal faces Ghana in their first Group H clash on November 24, followed by a game against Uruguay on November 29 and South Korea on December 2.

Meanwhile, in an interview with Livescore, Ronaldo stated he expects the Qatar World Cup 2022 to be the 'best ever'. "It will be different to play this kind of competition at the end of a year. It’s interesting, it’s a new challenge. I’m looking forward to it, as are my team mates and the other players I’ve spoken to… It will be my fifth World Cup and I’m really grateful for the chance to play in another… The most important thing is to be there and to compete. In my opinion, it will probably be the best World Cup ever. Let’s see… I joked with [Manchester United Brazil international teammate] Casemiro that the final will be Portugal against Brazil. It would be a dream, to be honest," the Portuguese talisman stated.