Portugal Star Cristiano Ronaldo becomes the second men’s player to score 100 International goals!

Byline by – Vinayak Heliwal

Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo has become just the second player to ever reach 100 international goals, hitting the landmark for Portugal in Tuesday’s UEFA Nations League match against Sweden.

Ronaldo reached the milestone just before half-time in Tuesday’s match against Sweden slamming a free-kick from outside the box to score the game’s first goal.The five-times Ballon d’Or Winner’s goal was also the 57th of his career from a direct free-kick and 10th in his nation’s colors.

Ronaldo also scored his 101st goal as the forward netted a fine strike from outside the box in the 72nd minute, giving Portugal a much deserved 2-0 win against Sweden.

The 35-year-old Portugal Forward is the only the second men’s player to reach 100 goals for his country after Ali Daei, who scored 109 times for Iran.

Incredibly for Ronaldo, just 17 of his 100 goals have come in friendly matches, and his nine hattricks all came in FIFA or UEFA tournaments or qualifying games.The Juventus Star is by far and away from the active leader in International Goals. India’s Sunil Chhetri (72) and Argentina’s Lionel Messi (70) are the next closest.

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-goal scorer and has now more than doubled previous record-holder Pauleta, who netted 47 times for the Selecao.

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.