CRISTIANO RONALDO reached a century of international goals in sensational style as Portugal beat Sweden in the Nations League.
The Portuguese superstar struck a stunning double to notch his 100th and 101st strikes for his country… and move within eight of a world record.
Cristiano Ronaldo has joined the 100 club at international levelCredit: AFP
Ronaldo, 35, was left stranded on 99 for an agonising ten months during football’s Covid-19 shutdown.
And it looked like he would have to wait even longer before reaching the landmark due to injury when he was ruled out of Saturday’s clash with Croatia.
The Juventus hitman was absent from training on Thursday with a toe injury and was subsequently left out of that 4-1 win.
That left him in a race against time to make tonight’s away trip to Sweden.
But the ex-Manchester United forward was passed fit and he ensured he marked the occasion by becoming a centurion.
And he did it in his usual stunning fashion.
After Swede Gustav Svensson was dismissed for a second yellow card on the stroke of half-time, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner strode up to slam a right-footed effort from the free-kick straight into the top corner.
And it got even better for the star on 72 minutes as he pulled the trigger again with an even more impressive strike from outside the box to double his team’s advantage and seal the 2-0 win.
Ronaldo’s first goal for his country came way back at Euro 2004 during a 2-1 group stage loss to eventual winners Greece.
And with his strike tonight being his first for Portugal in 2020, he has now scored an international goal in SEVENTEEN successive calendar years.
He is now only the second man ever to achieve the feat of 100 goals for his country.
But he is still nine short of becoming the all-time top scorer at international level.
Iran’s legendary Ali Daei holds that accolade with an incredible 109 goals in 149 caps.
Darren Fletcher says Cristiano Ronaldo became the player he is thanks to former Man Utd No2 Walter Smith
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
