Ronaldo scores 109th international goal to equal record
Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 109th goal for Portugal in Wednesday's Euro 2020 game against France to equal former Iran striker Ali Daei's all-time international record.
The 36-year-old Ronaldo, the leading scorer in European Championship history, converted his second penalty of the overall game in Budapest to complement the record in his 178th international appearance.
Ronaldo may be the first player to seem at five editions of the tournament and has scored five times in three Group F games.
The Juventus striker has scored 14 European Championship goals, five a lot more than French great Michel Platini, who netted nine times when he led France to glory in 1984.
Ronaldo netted his first international goal in a 2-1 loss to Greece in the opening game of Euro 2004 in Portugal, where in fact the hosts later lost to Greece 1-0 in the final.
Daei, nicknamed the 'Shariar' (King in Persian), scored a amazing 109 goals in 149 appearances for Iran between 1993 and 2006, an achievement many thought could not be matched.
Daei has said on several occasions that he'd be "delighted" if Ronaldo broke his record, as he believes the Juventus striker ranks one of the better three players in history, alongside Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona.
"Congratulations to @cristiano who's now one goal away from breaking the men's international goal scoring record," Daei posted on Instagram.
"I am honoured that this remarkable achievement will belong to Ronaldo - great champion of football and caring humanist who inspires and impacts lives throughout the world."
