Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 100th goal for Portugal on Tuesday, on the stroke of half-time of a UEFA Nations League match against Sweden.
The 35-year-old Juventus attacker curled in a free-kick from 25 yards over the wall and into the far left corner beyond Sweden’s stranded goalkeeper Robin Olsen for a memorable milestone in his trophy-laden career.
What’s perhaps most impressive about Ronaldo’s tally is that only 17 of his 100 goals have come in friendlies, though he has certainly beaten up on the European minnows along the way. Seven of his goals have come vs. Lithuania, and six have now come vs. Sweden, while he’s scored five apiece against Andorra, Armenia, Latvia and Luxembourg. Digging further into his century-mark of goals, he has six international hat tricks, 30 goals in World Cup qualifying and 31 in European Championship qualifying. He’s delivered seven goals on the World Cup stage and another nine at the Euros in his career.
Ronaldo is by far and away the active leader in international goals in men’s soccer. India’s Sunil Chhetri (72) and Argentina’s Lionel Messi (70) are the next closest. On the women’s side, 17 players have hit the 100-goal mark, with seven of them Americans. Canada’s Christine Sinclair is the all-time leader with 186 goals, two more than USA’s retired forward Abby Wambach.
