5 Records and Milestones Cristiano Ronaldo achieved vs Spain

Ronaldo scored the first ha-trick of the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Ronaldo scored the first hat-trick of the 2018 FIFA World Cup

#4 He is now the 2nd highest goalscorer ever in international football

Only Ali Daei has scored more goals than Ronaldo at the international level
Only Ali Daei has scored more goals than Ronaldo at the international level

Going into the World Cup, Ronaldo was the highest goalscorer at the international stage among all active players with a lead of 17 over nearest rivals Sunil Chhetri and Lionel Messi.

Not only has he extended that lead to 20 (at least temporarily), he has gone level with Ferenc Puskás as the second highest goalscorer ever in the history of football. However, Ronaldo’s 84 goals have come in 151 games while Puskas scored his 84 in just 89 games. Nevertheless, Ronaldo can surely take a clear lead with at least two more games against Morocco and Iran left in this World Cup.

Ali Daei of Iran holds the all-time record with 109 goals in 149 games. Don’t be surprised if Ronaldo surpasses that tally before he retires.

In addition, it was Ronaldo’s 151st game for Portugal which takes him to 20th in the list of most capped players at the international level surpassing Lothar Matthäus (150).

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