Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 109th goal for Portugal in Wednesday’s Euro 2020 game against France to equal former Iran striker Ali Daei’s all-time international record. He converted two penalties to equal the all-time international goalscoring record and help holders Portugal edge into the last 16 of Euro 2020 with a 2-2 draw against France in Budapest on Wednesday.The 36-year-old Ronaldo, the leading scorer in European Championship history, converted his second penalty of the game in Budapest to match the record in his 178th international appearance.Cristiano Ronaldo’s 1️⃣0️⃣9️⃣ international goals by opponent 🤩 pic.twitter.com/HjTWZariHa— Goal (@goal) June 24, 2021 Ronaldo is the first player to appear at five editions of the tournament and has scored five times in three Group F games. The Juventus striker has now scored 14 European Championship goals, five more than French great Michel Platini, who netted nine times when he led France to glory in 1984.Ronaldo netted his first international goal in a 2-1 loss to Greece in the opening game of Euro 2004 in Portugal, where the hosts later lost to Greece 1-0 in the final.Ronaldo scores two penalties in a draw with France, while Germans schedule a derby with EnglandAlmost half of Cristiano Ronaldo’s goals have come in the final 30 minutes of games. He has netted 31 times in the final 15 minutes and 22 times between the 61st and 75th minute. Ronaldo has scored 17 times between minutes 16-30 and 16 times between 31-45, with 11 in the opening 15 minutes of the first half and 12 in the opening 15 minutes of the second half. Some 89 of his goals have been inside the box with 20 from outside. He has scored 14 penalties and nine free-kicks.Cristiano Ronaldo is now the top scorer at: ✅ EUROs✅ Champions League✅ Real Madrid✅ Portugal✅ International football History maker! 🐐🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/ILVAcmROZL— EUROs Tweet (@Football__Tweet) June 24, 2021 Daei, nicknamed the ‘Shariar’ (King in Persian), scored a remarkable 109 goals in 149 appearances for Iran between 1993 and 2006, an achievement many thought would never be matched. Daei has said on several occasions that he would be “delighted” if Ronaldo broke his record, as he believes the Juventus striker ranks among the best three players in history, alongside Messi and Diego Maradona. The Iranian congratulated the Portuguese on Instagram.”Congratulations to Cristiano who is now one goal away from breaking the men’s international goal scoring record. I am honoured that this remarkable achievement will belong to Ronaldo – great champion of football and caring humanist who inspires and impacts lives throughout the world.”Cristiano Ronaldo at 36 is still UNREAL. 🐐 pic.twitter.com/4DZkgJupz8— 💫 (@Madridi7ii) June 24, 2021 In the ongoing comparison between two living legends Messi and Ronaldo, the Portuguese has earned another point. He has won an international tournament – Euro 2016 – which Messi has not. Messi is currently playing in the Copa America, though, with Argentina. Ronaldo’s 109 goals in 178 games is well clear of Messi’s 73 in 147 – roughly 0.6 goals a game to 0.5. Messi is 33 so would need another 27 goals to reach 100. That is the amount he has managed since 2015. It would take him another seven years to match Ronaldo’s 109 based on current form.The highlight of Ronaldo’s international career was undoubtedly winning Euro 2016, although he went off injured early in the final. He has scored in two Euros semi-finals too, 12 years apart – against the Netherlands in 2004 and Wales in 2016.Only two men in international football history have scored 109 goals:🇮🇷 Ali Daei🇵🇹 Cristiano RonaldoRECORD. EQUALLED. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/TGj51Q1RPF— Squawka Football (@Squawka) June 23, 2021 His finest hour at a World Cup was a hat-trick against Spain in the group stages three years ago in Russia, including a late free-kick. That is one of his nine international hat-tricks – including one against Switzerland in the 2019 UEFA Nations League semi-finals.He has also scored in all nine major tournaments he has played in – World Cups and European Championships. Including the Confederations Cup and Nations League, he has scored in 11 out of 11.Ronaldo has a chance to win his first Golden Boot at a major tournament. He has scored five goals, two more than anybody else.
