Cristiano Ronaldo scores his 10th international hat-trick: Key stats
An incredible hat-trick from Cristiano Ronaldo helped Portugal beat Luxembourg 5-0 in the World Cup Qualifiers on Wednesday. The Portugese legend registered his 10th international hat-trick and 58th overall. Ronaldo overtook Iran striker Ali Daei in terms of international goals last month. Besides, Portugal will take on Republic of Ireland in the next Group A match before facing Serbia. Here are the key stats.
First man to score 10 international hat-tricks
Ronaldo has become the first man to score 10 hat-tricks in international football. List of his international hat-tricks: 1) vs Northern Ireland, 2013. 2) vs Sweden, 2013. 3) vs Armenia, 2015. 4) vs Andorra, 2016. 5) vs Faroe Islands, 2017. 6) vs Spain, 2018. 7) vs Switzerland, 2019. 8) vs Lithuania, 2019. 9) vs Lithuania, 2019. 10) vs Luxembourg, 2021.
Ronaldo overtakes Sven Rydell
Ronaldo registered his ninth international hat-trick in 2019. He had emulated Sweden's Sven Rydell (1923-1932) for most hat-tricks in international football back then. Ronaldo overtook Rydell by scoring his 10th hat-trick against Luxembourg.
Most goals in international football
Ronaldo made his international debut in August 2003 against Kazakhstan in a friendly. He scored his first international goal nearly a year later, against Greece, during a UEFA Euro match. Over a decade later, Ronaldo has become the top-scorer in international football (115 from 182 matches). He broke Daei's record of most international goals last month. Ronaldo is now six goals clear of Daei.
Ronaldo's international goals (tournament wise)
Ronaldo's goals (tournament wise): Friendlies: 20, UEFA Euro Qualifiers: 31, UEFA European Championship: 14, UEFA Nations League: 5, FIFA World Cup Qualifiers: 36, FIFA World Cup: 7, FIFA Confederations Cup: 2. He has scored the most times against Luxembourg (9). Ronaldo has struck 13 international goals in 2021. He can go past his own best tally in a single year (14 in 2019).
A look at his staggering numbers
Ronaldo has completed 58 hat-tricks in his overall career (44 for Real Madrid, 10 for Portugal, three for Juventus, and one for Manchester United). He has the third-most goals in 2021 after Robert Lewandowski (50) and Erling Haaland (41). Ronaldo has netted a total of 54 goals in his last 49 appearances. He requires just six goals to reach the 800-mark.
