The Real Madrid CF striker had been somewhat upstaged last time he came up against Northern Ireland, who came close to clinging on for a 1-0 victory in Porto in October 2012 in a game that marked Ronaldo’s 100th international appearance. However, he was the undisputed star of the show at Windsor Park where his 15-minute treble kept his side two points clear of Russia, and moved him to 43 international goals, two strikes clear of Eusébio in Portugal's all time rankings.

“It was my first hat-trick for Portugal and that is sonething historic for me – it was very special,” the 28-year-old said after the match. "I've surpassed [Eusébio’s] total but that was not my main objective. I'm proud to have caught and then overtaken Eusébio, who was one of Portugal's greatest." To add to the sense that the fates were intervening, SL Benfica icon Eusébio scored his last international goal against Northern Ireland. Ronaldo is now just four goals shy of Pauleta’s 47-strike national record.

"We had many difficulties in this match but Paulo Bento said to us during the interval that we should continue to believe," added Ronaldo. "We showed that we are a great team."

Bento was grateful, meanwhile, that he could call on such a terrific marksman when things got tough. "[Ronaldo's goals] are a measure of his performance and class," the 44-year-old explained. "Today, I have to highlight my team's pedigree and personality. This result is down to them. Northern Ireland scored the first time they reached our goal and we were in trouble at 2-1. Then we showed our true nature and turned the tables."

Portugal's Group F campaign concludes in October with back-to-back home fixtures against Israel and Luxembourg.