Last update on.From European Football
Cristiano Ronaldo scored 28 headers for Portugal including two against Ireland.
Cristiano Ronaldo broke a world record for men's international football goals with his 110th and 112th goals for Portugal during their thrilling 2-1 World Cup qualifying victory over the Republic of Ireland.
After Gavin Bazunu saved a penalty, the 36-year old scored two late headers to break and extend his record.
Ali Daei, who scored goals for Iran in 109 games between 1993-2006, was the record holder. Ronaldo also equalled it with a double at Euro 2020 against France.
With his 180th Portugal appearance, the Manchester United forward also broke Sergio Ramos’ European record for men’s caps.
Fifa only confirmed this summer that the world record is the 195 Malaysian caps Soh Chin Ann won between 1969 and 1984.
Ronaldo, who joined United from Juventus at the deadline, and Daei were the only male players to score more than 90 international goals.
RTE's Luca said that he was so happy because he beat the record and for the moment they shared. "Two goals at end of game. It is something I must appreciate. We believed right to the end. "I'm so happy."
This is the latest evidence to support the argument that the Portuguese should be considered an all-time greatest.
He is currently the top scorer at club football's most prestigious tournament, the European Cup/Champions League. A trophy he has already won five times.
Former Real Madrid forward, he is also the highest scorer in European Championship history (14) as well as in Euros and World Cups (21).
His international goals.
Which tournaments did they attend? 33 – World Cup qualifiers 31– European Championship qualifiers 19, - International friendlies 14, - European Championship 7– World Cup 5– Uefa Nations Liga 2 - Confederations Cup
Nearly half of Ronaldo’s goals came in the last 30 minutes of games.
He scored 33 goals in the last 15 minutes, including two against the Irish. There were 22 goals between the 61st minute and the 75th minute.
Ronaldo scored 17 goals between minutes 16-30, and 16 between 31-45. 11 of these were in the first 15 minutes and 12 in 15 minutes.
His goals were 91 percent inside the box and 20 percent outside. He has scored 14 penalties as well as nine free kicks.
He has scored against the most sides, including Sweden and Lithuania (each seven). Before Wednesday's match in Algarve, he had never scored against the Republic of Ireland.
He's a genius. - Man Utd inside story about Cristiano Ronaldo
How Ronaldo's record compares
It is difficult to determine who ranks where in the top international men's goal scorer list because there is not an official database.
Ronaldo is the top scorer on 111, and Daei is second on 109.
Iran's Daei, a Bayern Munich player, broke Ferenc Puskas' record for international goals in 2003. This was the year Ronaldo made international his debut.
Cynics might argue that Daei was against an easier opponent - 95 were against other Asian sides.
He scored eight points against Laos, Maldives, and Lebanon.
Ronaldo also benefited from the fact that he was able to face weaker countries, including six against Andorra or Luxembourg.
It is not clear who ranks below them. Mokhtar Dhari from Malaysia, who was a player in the 1970s/80s, is listed as third with 89 goals. Fifa tweeted this summer that it confirmed the external-link, although it was never officially validated.
Puskas is the next with 84 goals and 85 caps for Hungary. Before Ronaldo, he was the highest-scoring European.
Godfrey Chitalu, Zambia, scored 79 goals in the 1960s and 1980s. This is not certified but was mentioned on the Fifa tweet.
Ronaldo will not be able to surpass the world record of Canada's striker Christine Sinclair, which includes women's football. She has scored 187 goals in her 304 caps, and she hasn't yet retired.
Ronaldo wins one over Messi
This is yet another example of the bizarre modern phenomenon of Lionel Messi fanboys and Ronaldo.
Ronaldo's 111 goals across 180 games are well ahead of Messi's score of 76 in 151. This is roughly 0.6 goals per game to Messi's 0.0.5.
Messi, the eighth-ranked scorer in the world, is 34. He would have to continue his current form until his forties to achieve 111 international goals.
Ronaldo's extraordinary international career
Ronaldo's international career was undoubtedly the Euro 2016 win, even though he was injured in the final.
He also scored in Euros semi-finals against the Netherlands in 2004 as well as Wales in 2016, 12 years apart.
His best moment at a World Cup was his hat-trick against Spain three years ago in Russia. It also included a late free kick. This is one of nine international hat-tricks that he has achieved - one of which was against Switzerland in the 2019 Uefa Nations League semi finals.
He has scored in every nine major tournaments that he has participated in, including the Confederations Cup and Nations League. He has scored in 11 of the 11 tournaments, including the Confederations Cup as well as Nations League.
He won the Euro 2020 Golden Boot with five goals in four matches, beating Czech Patrik Schick by five goals.
