Cristiano Ronaldo scores on record 181st international appearance: Key numbers
Portugal superstar Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 112th international goal against Qatar in a friendly encounter. Notably, the Manchester United forward earned his 181st cap. He has now overtaken Sergio Ramos as Europe's most-capped male player. Meanwhile, against Qatar, Jose Fonte and Andre Silva scored as well to help Portugal seal a comfortable 3-0 win. Here we present Ronaldo's numbers.
Ronaldo scores against a 46th different nation
By getting his name on the scoresheet against Qatar, Ronaldo has extended the record of scoring against most nations (46). In 11 appearances for Portugal in 2021, Ronaldo has scored 10 goals. Notably, he has scored 10-plus goals in a calendar year for Portugal on five occasions now. He has also raced to 791 career goals (club and country).
Decoding the international goals of Ronaldo for Portugal
Ronaldo has racked up 33 goals at World Cup Qualifiers. Apart from this, Ronaldo's tally reads - European Championship qualifiers: 31, international friendlies: 20, European Championships: 14, FIFA World Cup: 7, UEFA Nations League: 5, Confederations Cup: 2. As per the BBC, 92 of his goals have been inside the box with 20 from outside. He has also scored 14 penalties and nine free-kicks.
Ronaldo had surpassed Daei's record last month
Last month, Ronaldo became the highest scorer in men's international football. He was tied with Iran's Ali Daei on 109 international goals but steered clear after netting a brace against Republic of Ireland. As per Sky Sports, Ronaldo's first 50 international goals came in 114 appearances, but since then he has hit 62 in 67.
Is Ronaldo the greatest of all-time?
CR7 is already the top scorer (136) in club football's top tournament, the Champions League, a trophy he has won five times. The former Real Madrid and Juventus ace is also the top scorer in European Championship history (14) and in Euros and World Cups combined (21). He also won the Golden Boot at Euro 2020 with five goals in four games.
