Cristiano Ronaldo closes in on international goals record after becoming first European to score 100 times

History maker: Cristiano Ronaldo
via REUTERS
Richard Parry9 September 2020

Cristiano Ronaldo is the first European player to reach 100 international goals with a brace as Portugal won 2-0 in Sweden, who finished with 10 men.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star scored twice to reach 101 international goals, becoming only the second player in history to reach a century of strikes on the world stage.

Veteran Sweden midfielder Gustav Svensson was sent off just before half-time for collecting a second yellow card.

From the resulting free-kick, Juventus star Ronaldo fired the ball into the top corner to bring up his landmark century.

After 72 minutes, Ronaldo curled in a second goal from the edge of the penalty area to leave him just eight goals behind Iran’s Ali Daei, who holds the record at 109 strikes.

In Pictures | Cristiano Ronaldo

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Portugal have two wins from their opening Nations League fixtures, and top the table ahead of France, who beat Croatia 4-2 in Saint-Denis.

Additional reporting by the Press Association

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