Cristiano Ronaldo ties men's international goalscoring record as Portugal advances at Euro 2020
Cristiano Ronaldo scored two pivotal goals at Euro 2020 on Wednesday to tie the men's international goalscoring record.
Ronaldo tallied twice from the penalty spot — first to put Portugal ahead early against France, then to tie the match at 2-2 — to pull level with retired Iranian striker Ali Daei on 109 career goals for his country.
Ronaldo was +1200 before the tournament to win the Golden Boot as top scorer with BetMGM, and he finishes the group stage with five goals, two more than anyone else.
109 INTERNATIONAL GOALS FOR RONALDO 🔥 pic.twitter.com/hG53HrED6e
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) June 23, 2021
Ronaldo is still 77 goals behind Canadian forward Christine Sinclair, whose 186 (and counting) international goals are the most ever by a man or woman.
Ronaldo's goals on Wednesday — his fourth and fifth of the tournament in three games — earned Portugal a draw against France. In the end, though, they were relatively meaningless. Portugal finished third in Group F and advanced to Round of 16, where it'll play Belgium (Sunday, 3 p.m. ET, ABC) — and where Ronaldo will attempt to claim first place on the all-time men's goalscoring list.
Ronaldo first scored for Portugal's senior national team in June of 2004, at that year's European Championships on home soil.
Over the 17 years since, he's scored in friendlies, in 2006 World Cup qualifying, in the 2006 World Cup itself, in Euro 2008 qualifying, in the 2010 World Cup, in Euro 2012 qualifying, in Euro 2012 itself, in 2014 World Cup qualifying, in the 2014 World Cup itself, in Euro 2016 qualifying, in Euro 2016 itself, in the 2017 Confederations Cup, in 2018 World Cup qualifying, in the 2018 World Cup itself, in the 2019 UEFA Nations League, in the 2021 UEFA Nations League, in 2022 World Cup qualifying, and now in Euro 2020.
He's 36 years old, and showing some signs of slowing down, though not many. The 2022 World Cup is very much in his sights.
Ronaldo needed 178 matches to reach 109 goals, more than Daei, who hit 109 in just 149 appearances for Iran. But Ronaldo has scored his 109 against much tougher competition. The UAE's Ali Mabkhout is second on the list among active players with 76 goals. He's only 30, and could eventually challenge Ronaldo for the crown.
Lionel Messi, who's 33, has scored 73 times for Argentina against the toughest competition of all.
At club level, Messi has scored 672 goals in 16-plus seasons with Barcelona's senior team. Ronaldo has scored 674 in 19 seasons for Sporting Lisbon, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus.
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