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Ronaldo Becomes 2nd Man to Reach 100 Int'l Goals

Photo: AP

Photo: AP

Portugal's star Cristiano Ronaldo has become the second player to ever reach 100 international goals, reports Goal.com.

Ronaldo reached the milestone just before the half-time of Tuesday's League match against Sweden, slamming home a free-kick outside the box to score the game's first goal.

It wouldn't take long for Ronaldo to reach his 101st goal as the forward scored a fine strike from outside the box in the 72nd minute, giving Portugal all they needed in a 2-0 win.

The 35-year-old is only the second man to score 100 goals for his country after Ali Daei, who scored 109 times for Iran.

Ronaldo's goal was also the 57th of his career from a direct free-kick and the 10th for Portugal.

Ronaldo had to wait 10 months to overcome the final hurdle and reach the milestone, with his 99th international strike in November 2019 against Luxembourg. In the previous match, the forward had scored a hat trick against Lithuania to take his total to 98.

The coronavirus pandemic put a temporary halt to Ronaldo's pursuit of 100 goals, however, with Portugal's match against Croatia last week their first since the Luxembourg fixture.

Ronaldo was forced to sit that match out due to a toe infection, with Portugal winning by a comfortable 4-1 margin even without the Juventus star. 

Portugal are looking to defend their League title, which won the inaugural competition last year when it defeated the Netherlands 1-0 in the final.

Ronaldo helped lead his country to the final in June, having scored a 3-1 win over Switzerland in the semi-final.

Ronaldo scored his first international goal at the 2004 Euro at the age of 19. He went on to pass the likes of Eusebio and Pauleta to become Portugal's top goal scorer and has now more than doubled the previous record-holder Pauleta, who scored 47 times for the Selecao.

Ronaldo would see his side fall to Greece in the Euro 2004 final, but went on to lead Portugal to major honors in the form of the Euro 2016 and the inaugural League title in 2019.

On an individual level, Ronaldo has established himself as one of the all-time greats in a club career that has seen him represent Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus.

In addition to numerous trophies with his club sides, Ronaldo has won the Ballon d'Or on five occasions.

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