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As Cristiano Ronaldo wheeled away in celebration in the 89th minute against Ireland on Wednesday, the Portugal captain further cemented his place in history. That goal marked his 110th goal in international football, which saw him become the all-time top goalscorer in men’s football. Six minutes later, he scored another, winning the match 2-1 for his country.
Cristiano Ronaldo, who has now scored 111 official goals in his international career, overtook Iranian legend Ali Daei’s tally of 109 at Euro 2020 against France. Ronaldo, 36, has 33 goals in World Cup Qualifiers and 31 in European Championship Qualifiers. Earlier at Euro 2020, he became the only player to feature and score in five European Championships.
Ronaldo, who netted five goals at Euro 2020 to become the tournament’s top-scorer alongside Czech Republic’s Partick Shick, also has nine international hat-tricks.
As confirmed by overwhelming evidence, the current Manchester United man is overtly fond of scoring. He has done so against some of the biggest teams in the world, and we believe he will continue his streak until the very end. Still, as unbiased as he is, even Ronaldo has a few favorite opponents - teams he has scored against the most.
Today, we will take a look at who they are and briefly discuss his best spells.
5 countries Cristiano Ronaldo loves scoring against
#5 Luxembourg - 6 goals
Luxembourg have not had the easiest of times against Portugal, and it is primarily down to the genius of Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese first met Luxembourg in his formative years, in November 2004. He was impressive in the 2006 World Cup Qualifier and scored Portugal’s second goal of the night, helping them to a 5-0 win.
He met Luxembourg again, seven years later, in 2011. Again he scored the second goal as Portugal recorded another 5-0 win. A year later, in September 2012, he met Luxembourg in the 2014 World Cup Qualifiers and scored a goal.
The next three meetings were in Euro 2020 Qualifiers - home and away leg - and 2022 World Cup Qualifiers. Cristiano Ronaldo scored a goal on each of those three occasions.
#4 Hungary - 6 goals
Hungary may not be the most decorated footballing nation in the world, but they have been quite a tough nut to crack for Portugal. In the Euro 2016 group stage, Cristiano Ronaldo had to be at his best to nick a point off Hungary. He scored a timely brace, which included an insane backheel, to take his country to the Round of 16.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice more in March 2017 when Portugal met Hungary in the 2018 World Cup Qualifiers. His final encounter with the Hungarians was in the group stage of Euro 2020. Ronaldo scored a convincing brace to lead Portugal to a 3-0 win.
#3 Andorra - 6 goals
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored some stunning goals in his international career. Andorra, unfortunately, are one of the only two nations that have conceded four goals in a single match against Ronaldo. The Portuguese first met Andorra in October of 2016 when his team took on the minnows in the 2018 World Cup Qualifiers. He not only opened the scoring for his country, but also scored the second, fourth, and fifth goals in the 6-0 win.
He met Andorra again in 2017 for the return leg. This time he scored the only goal in a routine 1-0 win. His last encounter with the team was in 2020. This time he scored the sixth goal in a 7-0 thrashing at the Estadio da Luz.
#2 Lithuania - 7 goals
Lithuania are not a big name in the world of international football, but they sure are a proud country. They tend to celebrate every footballing occasion, and Cristiano Ronaldo coming to town was certainly a deserving one. Unfortunately for the hosts, it was business as usual when Ronaldo lined up for Portugal in the 2020 European Qualifiers. The Manchester United man scored four goals on the night, leading his country to a comfortable 5-1 win.
The return leg, played in November 2019, was not much different. At home, Portugal were even more dominant and cruised to a 6-0 win. Cristiano Ronaldo scored a fantastic hat-trick to take the match ball home.
#1 Sweden - 7 goals
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a total of seven goals against Sweden over the course of his international career, making Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s country his joint-favourite opponent. Of course, Sweden have a considerably richer footballing heritage than Lithuania, which has earned them the top spot on our list.
In November 2013, Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal and Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s Sweden went toe-to-toe for a place in the 2014 World Cup. The first leg, at the Estadio da Luz in Portugal, saw the home team nick a 1-0 win. Unsurprisingly, Cristiano Ronaldo was the only goalscorer.
The return leg, which took place only four days later, saw Ronaldo and Ibrahimovic go head-to-head in Sweden. Ronaldo opened the scoring for Portugal, then leveled the game at 2-2, and finally scored the winner with only 11 minutes to play. Portugal won 3-2 on the night and booked their place in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
