Ronaldo 101 – Portugal star’s Mesmerizing century – UEFA Nations League 2020

Ronaldo 101

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to score 101 international goals for Portugal on Tuesday against 10-seed Sweden. In the UEFA Nations League match against Sweden, the Great 100 mark was broken just before the half-time interval. 

Portugal v Sweden

The 35-year-old Legendary attacker hit a free-kick 25 yards and a free-kick from the wall beyond Sweden’s stranded goalkeeper Robin Olson for a memorable milestone in his trophy-laden career. The former Manchester United and Real Madrid player produced a stunning finish in the 72nd minute after returning inside the Swedish defense and in the corner 20 yards away with his 101st, bonus goal.

History

After making his first senior international appearance as an 18-year-old in 2003, Ronaldo scored his first goal for Portugal, defeating eventual winner Greece 2–1 at Euro 2004. Ronaldo, 165 caps by Portugal, is 2nd on the list of top male international goal scorers behind Iran’s Ali Dae, who scored 109 goals in his international career.

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Interestingly for Ronaldo, 17 of his 101 goals have come in friendly matches, and nine of his hat-tricks have come in all FIFA or UEFA tournaments or qualifying games. He holds the record for the most goals scored by a European man (84) as well as the most goals scored in an international career (101 from 165 matches).

Throwback

His 100th goal was scored at a stadium in Sweden that was the scene of a memorable Ronaldo performance in the second leg of the 2013 World Cup qualifying playoffs. Ronaldo had scored the only goal in the first leg and then exchanged goals with Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the second. Ronaldo hit a hat-trick between the 50th and 79th minutes while the Swedish star hit two in four minutes in the middle of the outburst. Portugal won the match and the playoff.

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