Ronaldo breaks men’s international scoring record against Ireland

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in Portugal’s 2-1 victory over the Republic of Ireland in their Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers on Wednesday night.

The Portugal captain’s brace saw him break the international goalscoring record for men with his 111th goal, surpassing the 109 goal-mark set by Ali Daei of Iran in 2006.

The Manchester United forward also equalled the European record for men’s caps held by Sergio Ramos with his 180th appearance for Portugal.

Ronaldo scored an 86th-minute equaliser before netting the 96th-minute winner to overcome a stubborn Ireland team.

The Republic of Ireland took the lead on the stroke of halftime through John Egan before Ronaldo left it late to rescue the 2016 European championship winners, latching on to crosses from Goncalo Guedes and Joao Mario.

Speaking with Portuguese media after the match, Ronaldo said he is happy at achieving the record. He also hailed his teammates for not giving up till the end of the game.

“I’m so happy, not only because I beat the record, but for the special moment that we had, 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,” the five-time Balon d’Or said.

Ronaldo has scored over 40 goals for club and country since turning 36 years old. He completed his transfer from Juventus to Manchester United on Monday, rejoining the club he left 12 years ago.