Online Reporter
SCOTT MCTOMINAY’S extraordinary overhead kick to help send Scotland to the World Cup has convinced fans he has BROKEN a Cristiano Ronaldo record.
The Napoli midfielder earned Ballon d’Or shouts after he scored a bicycle kick three minutes into the Tartan Army’s do-or-die World Cup qualifier against Denmark on Tuesday.
McTominay‘s acrobatic finish put Scotland 1-0 up before a thrilling encounter played out in front of a raucous Hampden Park crowd.
Having twice been pegged back level even with the Danes down to ten men in the second half, Scotland eventually ran out 4-2 winners to earn a spot in the 2026 World Cup —the first time they have made the finals since 1998.
But it was the opening goal —notwithstanding Kieran Tierney’s curling screamer from range and Kenny McLean’s halfway line lob over Kasper Schmeichel —which left people talking. Scotland boss Steve Clarke labelled it “the best overhead kick I’ve ever seen” and fans echoed this by comparing the 28-year-old to basketball icon Michael Jordan.
Another player compared to Jordan in the past has been Cristiano Ronaldo.
Those comparisons have related to the Portuguese legend’s stunning vertical jump, with a record height of 2.98metres. However, his goal for Real Madrid against Juventus in the 2018 Champions League quarter-final has now been directly compared with McTominay’s own overhead kick.
Ronaldo’s goal on that fateful night in Turin was registered as being hit at a height of 2.38m, or 7ft 7in off the floor.
But fans were left wondering whether McTominay may have beaten that record McTominay is four centimetres taller than his former Manchester United team-mate.And by one fan’s self-professed “very rough calculations”, it was calculated McTominay hit the ball at a height of 2.53m or 8ft 3in. The fan, going by the username @David_Rudnick on X, formerly known as Twitter, made his measurements using the diameter of a 22cm regulation adidas football. They then put 11 and a bit footballs on top of one another in the photo to calculate an estimated height for the point of contact. McTominay may also take the lead over Ronaldo in terms of appearing first at next summer’s tournament being held in the United States, Canada and Mexico. That is because Ronaldo, 40, could be banned for the opening game after he received a straight red card for an elbow in Portugal’s defeat to the Republic of Ireland.
The ban could be extended to more than one competitive match if a disciplinary committee deem Ronaldo to have been guilty of violent conduct.
And with Portugal involved in no more competitive games before the World Cup proper thanks to them topping their group, Ronaldo could miss the start of the tournament.
The Al-Nassr forward last played in the USA in August 2014 in a friendly for Real Madrid against Man Utd.
He has faced legal troubles in the country over allegations he sexually assaulted a woman in a Las Vegas hotel suite in 2009, which Ronaldo has always strongly denied.His accuser, Kathryn Mayorga, filed a lawsuit against him a decade after the alleged incident took place. No charges were ever brought by local authorities and a civil case against him was dismissed in 2022 due to “misconduct” by the plaintiff’s attorney. Ronaldo scored five goals during the World Cup qualifying campaign, while McTominay — who was the top scorer during the 2024 European Championship qualifiers —managed two goals . —Sun.
