Portugals Ronaldo celebrates after scoring against Sweden during their UEFA Nations League Group stage soccer match at Friends Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, Tuesday Sept. 8, 2020. (Janerik Henriksson / TT via AP)
STOCKHOLM, Sweden — Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 100th goal for Portugal on Tuesday, becoming only the second male player to reach the century mark in international football.
Ronaldo reached the milestone with a free kick into the top corner during Portugal’s Nations League match against Sweden. The goal gave Portugal a 1-0 halftime lead in Stockholm.
On the international stage, Ronaldo trails only former Iran striker Ali Daei, who scored 109 goals for the national team.
Ronaldo had been stuck at 99 goals since he scored against Luxembourg last November in a qualifying match for the postponed 2020 European Championship.
No other Portuguese player has even reached 50 international goals. Pauleta finished his career with 47 goals for Portugal and Eusebio had 41. Luis Figo was next with 32 goals.