Cristiano Ronaldo Jr. scored his first goal for Portugal’s U16 team against Wales over the weekend, taking his international tally to three at youth team level while still aged just 15.
Ronaldo Sr. hadn’t made his first appearance for any organized international setup by the time he was 15. The legendary forward had to wait until three weeks after his 16th birthday to turn out for Portugal’s U15 side in February 2001, although he did mark that debut with a goal against South Africa.
A series of injuries had delayed Ronaldo’s international call-up and it took the insistence of Aurélio Pereira, his coach at Sporting CP, to convince Carlos Dinis that this spindly winger was worthy of some minutes. He didn’t fare too badly—though the same cannot be said for his teammates that day.
Of the starting XI which lined up against South Africa in Torres Novas 24 years ago, Ronaldo was the only one to earn a single senior cap. He has thus far amassed 225 appearances for Portugal, racking up a staggering 143 goals along the way, but that precedent should serve as a word of warning for his son’s ambitions.
Filho de peixe sabe ̶n̶a̶d̶a̶r̶ 𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗖𝗔𝗥 🏹💫 #FazHistória | #U16 pic.twitter.com/69baK5LgSJ
— Portugal (@selecaoportugal) November 1, 2025
Ronaldo Jr. is a physically imposing teenager, already towering over his father. “When I was his age, he is a little bit bigger and stronger. I was smaller. I think he will be bigger than me,” Ronaldo Sr. correctly predicted during an appearance on Saudi Pro League: Kickoff last season.
During one memorable cameo in the documentary filmed about his father in 2015, Ronaldo Jr. tells his dad that he wants to be a goalkeeper, much to Cristiano Sr.’s evident horror. That aspiration never came to pass, and the teen lined up for his country on the left wing against Wales on Saturday, sweeping a first-time right-footed finish into the bottom corner.
Portugal U16 and their high-profile forward will be back in action against England on Tuesday.
Like Father, Like Son
Portugal’s official X account captioned the video of Ronaldo Jr.’s goal with the simple line, “like father, like son.” It proved to be particularly prescient as Ronaldo Sr. scored a brace for Al Nassr later that same day.
On his first appearance since getting knocked out of the King’s Cup to Karim Benzema’s Al Ittihad, extending Ronaldo’s wait for a major trophy in Saudi Arabia, the 40-year-old forward was inching towards another disappointing result.
Al Nassr fell behind to mid-table Al Fayha on Saturday and, despite Ronaldo’s 37th-minute equalizer, were still locked at 1–1 heading into second-half stoppage time. A seemingly innocuous aerial challenge between Abdulelah Al Amri and Mikel Villanueva prompted an unexpected VAR review, which dragged on until the referee belatedly awarded Al Nassr a dubious spot kick. With 104 minutes on the clock, Ronaldo stepped up to secure three points which keep his team top of the Pro League.
“Today my heart beat a little faster,” Ronaldo Sr. said of his dramatic penalty. The same could surely apply to the sight of his son taking another step in a budding career of his own.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Cristiano Ronaldo’s Son Surpasses His Father’s Goalscoring Feat.
