Portugal marksman Cristiano Ronaldo has become the second player to ever reach 100 international goals in the history of the sport.
The Juventus forward finally reached the milestone just before half-time of Tuesday’s Nations League match against Sweden, driving home a free-kick from outside the box to score the game’s first goal.
It didn’t take long for Ronaldo to reach his 101st goal as the attacker netted a fine strike from outside the box in the 72nd minute, giving Portugal all they would need in a 2-0 win.
The 35-year-old Portuguese is the only second men’s player to reach 100 goals for his country after Iranian Ali Daei, who scored 109 times for his Nation.
In other statistics, Ronaldo’s second goal in the game was also the 57th of his career from a direct free-kick and the 10th for Portugal.
READ ALSO: Federal High Court Suit Seeks to Disqualify Ize-Iyamu Over Edo Election
Ronaldo had to wait out 10 months to overcome the final hurdle and reach the milestone, with his 99th international strike coming in November 2019 against Luxembourg. The forward had netted a hat-trick in the previous match against Lithuania to take his total to 98.
Ronaldo’s pursuit of 100 goals was suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic, however, with Portugal’s match against Croatia last week their first since the Luxembourg fixture.
Ronaldo was only able to make the bench due to a toe infection, with Portugal riding on the back of a comfortable 4-1 margin even without the Juventus star.
Portugal are looking to defend their Nations League title, having won the maiden edition of the competition last year when they defeated the Netherlands 1-0 in the final.
Ronaldo helped lead his country to that final in June, having netted a hat-trick against Switzerland in the semi-final in a 3-1 win.
At the age of 19, Ronaldo scored his first international goal at Euro 2004. He has gone on to pass the likes of Eusebio and Pauleta to become Portugal’s all-time top goalscorer and has now more than doubled previous record-holder Pauleta, who netted 47 times for the Selecao.
Ronaldo would see his side fall to Greece in the Euro 2004 final, but he has gone on to lead Portugal to major honours in the form of Euro 2016 and the inaugural Nations League title in 2019.
On an individual level, Ronaldo has established himself as one of the game’s all-time greats in a club career that has seen him represent Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus.
In addition to numerous trophies with his club sides, Ronaldo has won the Ballon d’Or on five occasions.
READ ALSO: Nigerians Can’t Survive Your Fuel, Electricity Price Hike – PDP Tells Buhari
Leave a Reply