Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo Becomes 2nd Male Footballer To Score 100 International Goals

Ronaldo also became the first European to score 100 goals after Ali Daei, who scored 109 times for Iran. Daei had played for Bayern Munich and Hertha Berlin at club level and featured for Iran from 1993 to 2007 when he retired.

The 35-year-old Juventus forward scored the milestone goal in his 156th international match. Furthermore, this was the 57th goal of his career from a direct free-kick and the 10th for his nation.

"I managed to beat this milestone of 100 goals and now [I'll go] for the record. It's step-by-step. I am not obsessed because I believe the records come in a natural way," Ronaldo said after the match, according to ESPN.

After turning 30, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner has scored 49 of his 101 career goals with Portugal. Of his 100 goals, only 17 of them have come in international friendlies.

While Ronaldo has scored seven goals vs Lithuania, he has scored six vs Sweden, five vs Andorra, Armenia, Latvia, and Luxembourg.

Meanwhile, among the women's footballers, 17 players have hit the 100-goal mark, of which, seven of them are Americans. With 186 goals, Canada's Christine Sinclair is the all-time leader.

Ronaldo made his Portugal debut in 2003 against Kazakhstan and scored his first goal at the UEFA Euro 2004 when he was just 19-years-old. While Ronaldo did not win the UEFA Euro 2004 final, he went on to lead Portugal to major honours including UEFA Euro 2016 and the inaugural UEFA Nations League title in 2019.