Cristiano Ronaldo scores his 100th international goal for Portugal

Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first male footballer in Europe and the second male footballer in the world to score 100th international goal for his country.

Ronaldo led Portugal to a 2-0 victory in Portugal’s National League match against Sweden in Solna, Sweden on Tuesday by scoring two goals. After scoring the first goal with a free kick in the 47th minute, Ronaldo netted a right-foot winner in the 73rd minute.

Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first European to reach 100 international goals by scoring his 100th and 101st international goals in his 154th international match, said UEFA.

Ronaldo has become the second player ever to score 100 international goals after Iran’s Ali Daei, who scored 109 international goals in 149 international matches. Pele of Brazil is ranked 7th with 77 international goals in 92 matches and Ronaldo’s rival Lionel Messi stands at No. 16 with 70 international goals in 138 matches. Korean footballer Cha Bum-kun is ranked 34th with 58 international goals in 136 matches. In women’s football, where there was a huge gap in skills among countries, more than 10 footballers scored over 100 international goals, including Canada’s Christine Sinclair (186 goals).

Ronaldo has achieved the feat in 16 years since he scored his first international goal in Portugal’s opening game at UEFA EURO 2004 against Greece. According to UEFA, Ronaldo scored 55 goals with his right foot, 22 goals with his left foot, and 24 goals with his head. There were nine matches, where he netted more than three goals. He was brilliant at set piece play, scoring 10 free-kick goals.

Portugal recorded 55 wins (5 draws 6 losses) in 66 games, where Ronaldo scored. He scored against 41 countries and his favorite opponents were Sweden and Luxembourg, with each conceding seven goals against him. Ronaldo said he has been working hard to pass the 100-goal landmark and now he will aim to break a new record.


Yun-Cheol Jeong trigger@donga.com