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Cristiano Ronaldo was never going to break the 100 international goal barrier with a sloppy touch from 3 yards. If his past achievements about the Portugal captain have taught us anything, it’s that the spectacular is always preferable to the mundane. So it was fitting that he became the second male player in history to score 100 goals for his country with an impressive free kick against Sweden to enhance his century.
And it should come as no surprise that he scored a second goal in Tuesday’s 2-0 Nations League win to bring his spoils from Portugal to 101 goals. That’s what Ronaldo is all about – even when he sets a new milestone, he instantly moves on to the next goal.
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The Juventus striker will turn 36 in February, but is now just eight away from equaling the men’s world record for international goals, the 109-goal mark set by Ali Daei of Iran, and his performance in Sweden showed that there is still a long way to go. do. in the tank.
Ronaldo clearly likes the Friends Arena in Stockholm. In November 2013, he arrived in the Swedish capital for the second leg of a World Cup qualifying tiebreaker that had been heralded as a shootout between Ronaldo and local hero Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Ibrahimovic scored twice that night, but Ronaldo was one better, scoring an impressive hat trick to secure Portugal’s place at Brazil 2014 and bring his international goal count to 47.
Ronaldo was 28 at the time, a world star at the peak of his powers with Real Madrid, but he wasn’t even halfway to the 100 international goal mark and no one would have really believed it would be possible for him to reach triple digits. . and get a chance to break Daei’s record. But scoring the numbers 100 and 101 for Portugal on Tuesday, now it is surely only a matter of time before he claims the record for himself, and it is likely to be one that will hold for many years.
Sunil Chhetri of India is the closest active player to Ronaldo with 72 goals for his country, but Chhetri has 36 so clearly time is not on his side. Lionel Messi (70) and Robert Lewandowski (61) are also too adrift to have any real hope of emulating Ronaldo by reaching 100, regardless of going beyond Daei’s record of 109. Perhaps Neymar (61) and Ali Mabkhout -29th- One-year UAE striker with 63 goals in 83 matches, they are the only players with a chance to catch up with Ronaldo, but for that to happen, Ronaldo has to stop first, and there is little sign of let that happen soon.
Against Sweden, the pace and drive were still there, with Ronaldo forcing two major saves from goalkeeper Robin Olsen before scoring the 100th with a 25-yard free throw in 45 minutes. It was a classic Ronaldo hit, with the free kick simply clearing the wall before flying into the top corner just beyond Olsen’s reach. His second, at 73 minutes, was another clean textbook goal from the former Manchester United star.
None of his goals were scored in the manner of a veteran who strives for speed of thought and movement. But Ronaldo has always denied his age. He scored 52 goals in 118 appearances for his country before the age of 30, at a rate of 0.44 goals per game. However, since turning 30, he has stepped on the pedal firmly and accelerated to 100, scoring 49 goals in 47 international matches, at a rate of 1.04 goals per game.
Most, if not all, players slow down once they hit 30, but Ronaldo has gone the other way, like a Benjamin Button footballer.
If it weren’t for an infected finger, which forced him to miss Saturday’s clash with Croatia in Porto, Ronaldo probably would have broken the 100-goal mark at the Estadio do Dragao. Having scored his first international goal at that stadium against Greece at Euro 2004, it would have been a symmetrical way to improve his century, but maybe he’ll make it to 110 there. It is also a testament to Ronaldo’s commitment to international play that he stayed with the Portugal camp rather than retiring and returning to Juventus for toe treatment.
While Messi has not been able to repeat the success he has had with Barcelona, losing multiple finals in the colors of Argentina and retiring from international soccer at one point, Ronaldo has backed all of his titles won with Juve, Madrid and Madrid. United with a European Championship and the League of Nations for Portugal. His goals in Sweden are his reward for leading a country that has always had to overcome his weight on the international stage.
The next step will be to break Daei’s record. Portugal will face France twice, Sweden at home and Croatia away before the end of 2020, with friendlies in 2021 ahead of the rescheduled Euro 2020 next summer, so the smart money would be for Ronaldo to break the record during the defense of Portugal of its European crown. And that would be appropriate too, with the stature of Portugal’s opponents adding weight to Ronaldo’s achievement.
Of Daei’s 109 goals, 16 were against Laos and Maldives, six against Lebanon and five against Sri Lanka and Nepal. Lithuania, Luxembourg and Sweden have been Ronaldo’s favorite opponents, each conceding seven goals against him, but he has also scored great goals against heavyweights such as Spain, the Netherlands, Argentina and Belgium.
So if or when he claims the world record, Ronaldo will have done it the hard way, as well as in style.
