Ronaldo breaks international goal record (2024)

Ronaldo breaks international goal record (1)

Cristiano Ronaldo broke the world record for goals scored in men's international football as he hit his 110th and 111th goals for Portugal in their dramatic 2-1 World Cup qualifying win over the Republic of Ireland.

The 36-year-old scored two late headers - to break and extend the record - after he had a penalty saved by Gavin Bazunu.

Ali Daei, who scored 109 goals for Iran between 1993 and 2006, held the record which Ronaldo equalled with a double against France at Euro 2020.

The Manchester United forward has also equalled Sergio Ramos' European record for men's caps - with his 180th Portugal appearance.

The world record - only ratified by Fifa this summer - is the 195 Malaysia caps won by Soh Chin Ann between 1969 and 1984.

Ronaldo, who rejoined United from Juventus on deadline day, and Daei are the only two male players to score 90 or more international goals.

"I'm so happy, not only because I beat the record, but for the special moment that we had," he told RTE. "Two goals at the end of the game. I have to appreciate what the team did, we believed until the end. I'm so glad."

This is the latest landmark to push the argument for the Portuguese to be considered an all-time great.

He is already the top scorer in club football's top tournament, the European Cup/Champions League, a trophy he has won five times.

The former Real Madrid forward is also the top scorer in European Championship history (14) and in Euros and World Cups combined (21).

How his international goals have come

What tournaments have they come in?
33 - World Cup qualifiers
31 - European Championship qualifiers
19 - International friendlies
14 - European Championship
7 - World Cup
5 - Uefa Nations League
2 - Confederations Cup

Almost half of Ronaldo's goals have come in the final 30 minutes of games.

He has netted 33 times in the final 15 minutes - including twice against the Irish - 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 91 of his goals have been inside the box with 20 from outside. He has scored 14 penalties and nine free-kicks.

Lithuania and Sweden - seven each - are the sides he has scored the most against. He had not scored against the Republic of Ireland before Wednesday's game in the Algarve.

How Ronaldo's record stacks up

There is no official database for top men's international goalscorers which makes it hard to say exactly who ranks where.

Ronaldo is top on 111 and Daei is next on 109, of that there is no doubt.

Iran's Daei, who played for Bayern Munich, was said to have broken Hungarian legend Ferenc Puskas' record in 2003 with his 85th international goal. That is the year Ronaldo made his international debut.

Cynics could argue that Daei's goals were against easier opposition - with 95 against fellow Asian sides.

He scored eight against the Maldives and Laos and six against Lebanon.

But Ronaldo has also benefitted from facing weaker nations including six against Andorra and Luxembourg each.

The only question is who ranks below them? Mokhtar Dahari of Malaysia - who played in the 1970s and 80s - is credited as being third in some places with 89 goals. A Fifa tweet this summer seemed to confirm that, despite it never being officially validated.

Puskas is definitely next, with 84 goals in 85 caps for Hungary. He was the top-scoring European before Ronaldo.

Zambia's Godfrey Chitalu scored 79 goals between the 1960s and 1980s - again not certified but also mentioned on that Fifa tweet.

Ronaldo is unlikely to beat the world record, including women's football, of Canada striker Christine Sinclair. She has scored 187 goals in 304 caps and has not yet retired.

Ronaldo gets one over on Messi

In the strange modern-day phenomena of Ronaldo and Lionel Messi fanboys, this is another tick in the Ronaldo column.

Ronaldo's 111 goals in 180 games is well clear of Messi's 76 in 151 - roughly 0.6 goals a game compared with 0.5.

Messi - the joint eighth top scorer in the world - is 34 and on current form would need to play into his forties to reach 111 international goals.

Ronaldo's remarkable international career

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.

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.

He won the Golden Boot at Euro 2020 with five goals in four games, beating five-goal Czech Patrik Schick on assists.

Ronaldo breaks international goal record (2)

Ronaldo breaks international goal record (3)

Ronaldo breaks international goal record (2024)

FAQs

Ronaldo breaks international goal record? ›

He is the most capped player in men's international football with 206 appearances and has scored a record 128 goals.

When did Ronaldo break the international goal record? ›

When did Ronaldo break the international goals record? Ronaldo broke the world record for international goals when he scored twice against Republic of Ireland in Portugal's European Qualifier in Faro-Loulé on 1 September 2021, aged 36.

What world record did Ronaldo break? ›

Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo capped his first full Saudi Pro League season in style as he broke the record for the most goals scored in one campaign on Monday. The 39-year-old scored a brace in his side's 4-2 win over Al Ittihad on the final matchday to bring his league tally this season to 35 goals.

Did Messi break Ronaldo's goal record? ›

There was another landmark in the long rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo on Saturday. As Paris Saint-Germain sealed an 11th Ligue 1 title, Messi scored his 496th goal in Europe's top five leagues, surpassing Ronaldo's previous record of 495 goals.

Does Ronaldo hold the record for most goals? ›

Ronaldo has scored more goals recognized by FIFA than any other player in the history of football. As of this writing, Transfer Market indicates that he has 887 goals scored for both club and country. After overtaking Josef Bican (805), Ronaldo inscribed his name at the top of the scoring rankings in history.

Who is the highest goal scorer in history? ›

With over 890 goals at club and international level combined, Cristiano Ronaldo is widely regarded as the top goalscorer of all time.

Can Ronaldo score 1000 goals? ›

Ronaldo's 857 career goals have been scored at an average of 0.72 per game. Using that strike-rate, he would have to play another 198 matches to get the 143 goals needed to reach 1,000.

Is Ronaldo in the Guinness World Record? ›

Lionel Messi is the footballer with the most Guinness World Records (GWR). In a Twitter post on Tuesday, the British reference book announced that the Argentine surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo on the log for the most record titles. Messi is said to have 41 records to his name, while Ronaldo falls just one short at 40.

Who has broken the world record? ›

Ashrita Furman (born Keith Furman, September 16, 1954) is a Guinness World Records record-breaker. As of 2017, Furman has set more than 600 official Guinness Records and currently holds over 200 records, thus holding the Guinness world record for the most Guinness world records. He has been breaking records since 1979.

Who has the most goals in a single Saudi league season? ›

Cristiano Ronaldo broke the record for the most goals in a Saudi Pro League season when he struck for the 34th and 35th time in Al Nassr's final game of the campaign.

Who has more late goals Messi or Ronaldo? ›

The Argentine has managed to score late goals in only six matches in his career compared to Ronaldo's tally of 12. Here, we take a look at all the Champions League matches in which Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have scored on or after 90 minutes.

What world cup records has Messi broken? ›

Messi has played the most minutes in World Cup history: 2,314. He broke Paolo Maldini's record of 2,217 minutes in the Qatar 2022 final.

Who has more goals, Ronaldo or Messi? ›

Highlights. Ronaldo has scored more goals than Messi in their careers (877 vs 822), but the Argentine averages more goals per game (0.78 vs 0.73). Messi has tallied more hat-tricks (63 vs 57) and free-kick goals (65 vs 61) than Ronaldo.

What record did Ronaldo break? ›

Al Nassr's Cristiano Ronaldo capped his first full Saudi Pro League season in style as he broke the record for the most goals scored in one campaign on Monday. The 39-year-old scored a brace in his side's 4-2 win over Al Ittihad on the final matchday to bring his league tally this season to 35 goals.

What records does CR7 have? ›

Ronaldo holds the records for most appearances (183), goals (140) and assists (42) in the Champions League, goals in the European Championship (14), international goals (128) and international appearances (206).

Who has more goals, Pele or Ronaldo? ›

No one has scored more goals recognised by FIFA than the Portugal captain, who has inked his name at the summit of history's goal charts. Messi has surpassed legendary trio Romario, Ferenc Puskas and Pele to move to third, but Ronaldo still remains at the very top.

Has Ronaldo scored the most international goals? ›

Since then, he has become the current all-time record goalscorer for the Portugal national team, and the highest overall men's international goalscorer in history, having scored 128 goals in 206 appearances.

When did Messi break the record for most goals in a season? ›

His 73 goals in all competitions during the 2011-12 season set a new world record, as did his 50 La Liga tallies. And what's more incredible?

What happened to Ronaldo before 1998 final? ›

One of Brazil's main newspapers claimed that Ronaldo had a nervous breakdown during the cup. Folha de S Paulo wrote that Ronaldo was displaying signs of depression a week before the final, smashing a bike against a wall. On the eve of the game, Ronnie had a "nervous crisis".

How many goals did Ronaldo score at 24 years old? ›

The Sun Football - Goals scored by age 24: Romelu Lukaku - 165 Luis Suarez - 164 Cristiano Ronaldo - 145 Thierry Henry - 125 Zlatan Ibrahimovic - 110 | Facebook.

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