Cristiano Ronaldo, the captain of Portugal, reportedly has "a huge hunger" to succeed at the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup, according to coach Fernando Santos.

Santos also encouraged Ronaldo, who missed Portugal's 4-0 international friendly victory over Nigeria on Thursday, to surpass Pele as the nation's all-time leading scorer at the World Cup.

The legendary Eusebio of Portugal, who scored nine goals during his country's run to the semifinals of the 1966 Finals, must score three goals for Ronaldo to surpass him.

The 37-year-old has seven goals in four World Cups, setting a record with 177 goals for Portugal overall.

“Cristiano, like all of the players I have called up, comes with a huge hunger to show his ability and to make Portugal the world champion,” Santos said, as quoted by the Mirror.

“Is Ronaldo hungrier?" Let’s wait and see. He has always been hungry – that is why he has stayed at the top of the game for so long.

“I’m not interested in what he was like a month ago." He has played four games for Manchester United since then.