MAPPED: Cristiano Ronaldo is international soccer's greatest ever male goalscorer. Take a look at every one of his 111 record-breaking goals.
- Cristiano Ronaldo is international soccer's greatest ever male goalscorer.
- Scoring twice for Portugal against Ireland in early September took him to 111 goals, more than any other man.
- To commemorate the occasion Insider took a look at all 111 goals, scored across 44 countries and 17 years.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
On September 1, 2021, Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo bagged a late brace of goals as his side beat Ireland in a qualifying match for the 2022 World Cup.
On the surface, it was just another night at the office for the Manchester United forward, but the goals had a much greater significance than simply helping Portugal to a 2-1 win.
Upon scoring his first of the night, Ronaldo became the most prolific goalscorer in the history of international men's soccer.
He has now bagged 111 goals across 180 appearances for his country, scoring against 44 different countries around the world, from New Zealand to Iceland, and doing so over 17 calendar years.
With his brace against Ireland, Ronaldo overtook Iran's Ali Daei, who previously held the record for most goals with 109, held since his retirement in 2006. Together, Ronaldo and Daei are the only men in soccer history to score more than 100 international goals.
To commemorate Ronaldo's incredible feat of goalscoring, Insider decided to take a look at each and every one of the 111 goals, where they happened and when, against whom, and their significance for both Ronaldo and his nation.
The interactive map above shows the 44 different countries around the world against whom Ronaldo has but the ball in the net for Portugal. He has scored the highest number of goals against Sweden and minnows Lithuania, bagging seven against both sides.
He has scored international goals in 24 countries, unsurprisingly bagging almost half his international strikes in his home country.
So far, Ronaldo has scored 50 goals in Portugal.
Russia is second on the list, with the star scoring six in the country, four of which came at the 2018 World Cup.
Keep reading to see a breakdown of Ronaldo's 111 goals in his international career. Insider has highlighted a handful of key matches and goals.
RONALDO'S FIRST GOAL: Portugal 1-2 Greece - June 12, 2004Location: Porto, Portugal
Type of goal: Header
Competition: UEFA Euro 2004
Ronaldo had made just seven appearances, most of which were as a substitute, for Portugal before he was called up for Euro 2004.
But it didn't take him long to make an impact on the big stage, with the teenager coming off the bench to head home his first international goal in a 2-1 defeat to Greece in the tournament's opening game.
The result foreshadowed one of the biggest upsets in soccer history, with Greece going on to beat Portugal again in the final.
Regardless of the result, it was a landmark night for Ronaldo, and soccer as a whole.
Goal 2: Portugal 2-1 Netherlands - June 30, 2004Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Type of goal: Header
Competition: UEFA Euro 2004
Goal 3: Latvia 0-2 Portugal - September 4, 2004
Location: Riga, Latvia
Type of goal: Left-foot
Competition: 2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
Goal 4: Estonia 0-4 Portugal - September 8, 2004Location: Leira, Portugal
Type of goal: Header
Competition: 2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
Goals 5 and 6: Portugal 7-1 Russia - October 13, 2004
Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Type of goal: Left-foot, right-foot
Competition: 2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
Goal 7: Luxembourg 0-5 Portugal - November 17, 2004Location: Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
Type of goal: Header
Competition: 2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
Goal 8: Portugal 2-0 Slovakia - June 4, 2005
Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Type of goal: Free-kick
Competition: 2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
Goal 9: Estonia 0-1 Portugal - June 8, 2005Location: Tallinn, Estonia
Type of goal: Header
Competition: 2006 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
Goals 10 and 11: Saudi Arabia 0-3 Portugal - March 1, 2006Location: Dusseldorf, Germany
Type of goal: Header, left-foot
Competition: Friendly
HIS FIRST WORLD CUP GOAL: Iran 0-2 Portugal - June 17, 2006Location: Frankfurt, Germany
Type of goal: Penalty
Competition: 2006 FIFA World Cup
After finishing World Cup qualifying as his country's second top-scorer, Ronaldo arrived at his first World Cup in Germany and immediately made a name for himself.
His first ever World Cup goal came in Portugal's second fixture against Iran.
Despite Portuguese legends Luis Figo and Deco being on the pitch, Ronaldo stepped up to take a penalty won by Figo and finished it in emphatic style, rifling it into the top left corner.
At 21 years and 132 days old, Ronaldo became the youngest Portuguese player to score at a World Cup.
Goals 13 and 14: Portugal 3-0 Azerbaijan - October 7, 2006Location: Porto, Portugal
Type of goal: Left-foot, header
Competition: UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying
Goal 15: Portugal 3-0 Kazakhstan - November 15, 2006Location: Coimbra, Portugal
Type of goal: Right-foot
Competition: UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying
Goals 16 and 17: Portugal 4-0 Belgium - March 24, 2007Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Type of goal: Header, left-foot
Competition: UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying
Goal 18: Armenia 1-1 Portugal - August 22, 2007Location: Yerevan, Armenia
Type of goal: Left-foot
Competition: UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying
Goal 19: Portugal 2-2 Poland - September 8, 2007Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Type of goal: Right-foot
Competition: UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying
Goal 20: Kazakhstan 1-2 Portugal - October 17, 2007Location: Almaty, Kazakhstan
Type of goal: Left-foot
Competition: UEFA Euro 2008 Qualifying
Goal 21: Czech Republic 1-3 Portugal - June 11, 2008Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Type of goal: Right-foot
Competition: UEFA Euro 2008
Goal 22: Portugal 1-0 Finland - February 11, 2009Location: Faro, Portugal
Type of goal: Penalty
Competition: Friendly
THE COMEBACK GOAL: North Korea 0-7 Portugal - June 21, 2010Location: Cape Town, South Africa
Type of goal: Right-foot
Competition: 2010 FIFA World Cup
Ronaldo hadn't scored a competitive international goal for Portugal in almost two years going into the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
After drawing a blank against the Ivory Coast in the opening game, it looked as if he was going to again be unable to find the net against North Korea.
However, his luck changed in comical fashion in the 87th minute when, after a challenge with Korea's keeper, the ball somehow ended up balancing on his back before falling into his path with just an empty net in front of him.
"I knew the goal would come eventually," Ronaldo said after the match. "I didn't feel under pressure about it.
"I smiled when I scored because it was a funny goal, the way it hit me on the neck."
The game finished 7-0 to Portugal, and caused great embarrassment in North Korea.
After North Korea drew 1-1 in its opening game of the tournament, the country's government decided to show the Portugal match live — the first time any international game had ever been broadcast live in the country.
Goal 24: Portugal 3-1 Denmark - October 8, 2010Location: Porto, Portugal
Type of goal: Left-foot
Competition: UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifying
Goal 25: Iceland 1-3 Portugal - October 12, 2010Location: Reykjavik, Iceland
Type of goal: Free-kick
Competition: UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifying
THE DUEL WITH MESSI: Argentina 2-1 Portugal - February 9, 2011Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Type of goal: Right-foot
Competition: Friendly
February 9, 2011 marked the first time Ronaldo met his great adversary Lionel Messi on the international stage.
Argentina's Angel Di Maria opened the scoring on the day after being teed up by Messi, before Ronaldo levelled shortly after.
It was the Barcelona star who would have the last laugh on the day, however, as he scored a 90th minute penalty to hand La Albiceleste victory.
The pair have so far met again only once while playing for their countries. Portugal beat Argentina 1-0 in 2014 with Raphael Guerreiro scoring the only goal.
Goal 27: Portugal 5-0 Luxembourg - August 10, 2011Location: Faro, Portugal
Type of goal: Free-kick
Competition: Friendly
Goals 28 and 29: Cyprus 0-4 Portugal - September 2, 2011Location: Nicosia, Cyprus
Type of goal: Penalty, left-foot
Competition: UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifying
Goal 30: Denmark 2-1 Portugal - October 11, 2011Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Type of goal: Free-kick
Competition: UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifying
Goals 31 and 32: Portugal 6-2 Bosnia and Herzegovina - November 15, 2011Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Type of goal: Free-kick, left-foot
Competition: UEFA Euro 2012 Qualifying
RONALDO SAVES PORTUGAL: The Netherlands 1-2 Portugal - June 17, 2012Location: Kharviv, Ukraine
Type of goal: Right-foot, right-foot
Competition: UEFA Euro 2012
Drawn into a 'group of death' including the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark, Portugal headed into its final game knowing it needed a win if it wanted to reach the quarterfinals.
However, when Rafael van der Vaart's curled finish put the Netherlands 1-0 up in the 11th minute, Portugal's chances took a big hit.
Up stepped Ronaldo.
He latched onto the end of an impeccably placed through ball from João Pereira before finishing past Michel Vorm to level the game.
16 minutes from time he repeated the trick. This time Portugal hit the Netherlands on the break with Nani bursting down the right wing.
The Manchester United winger's pass met Ronaldo, who cut back before rifling the ball into the net to win the game and secure qualification for the next round.
Goal 35: Czech Republic 0-1 Portugal - June 21, 2012Location: Warsaw, Poland
Type of goal: Header
Competition: UEFA Euro 2012
Goal 36: Portugal 2-0 Panama - August 15, 2012Location: Faro, Portugal
Type of goal: Right-foot
Competition: Friendly
Goal 37: Luxembourg 1-2 Portugal - September 7, 2012Location: Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
Type of goal: Right-foot
Competition: FIFA World Cup 2014 Qualifying
Goal 38: Portugal 2-3 Ecuador - February 6, 2013Location: Faro, Portugal
Type of goal: Right-foot
Competition: Friendly
Goal 39: Croatia 0-1 Portugal - June 10, 2013Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Type of goal: Left-foot
Competition: Friendly
Goal 40: Portugal 1-1 The Netherlands - August 14, 2013Location: Faro, Portugal
Type of goal: Left-foot
Competition: Friendly
THE FIRST HAT-TRICK: Northern Ireland 2-4 Portugal - September 6, 2013Location: Belfast, Northern Ireland
Type of goal: Header, header, free-kick
Competition: 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying
Portugal was on course for a shock defeat at the hands of Northern Ireland in 2014 World Cup qualifying when Ronaldo decided it would be a good time to score his first international hat-trick.
Trailing 2-1 in the 67th minute, the Portuguese superstar levelled the scores with a trademark header from Joao Moutinho's corner.
20 minutes later, he headed home again to put Portugal in the lead, before he drove home a low free-kick late on to secure victory.
It was the first of (as of September 2021) nine hat-tricks for his country.
Goal 44: Portugal 1-0 Sweden - November 15, 2013Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Type of goal: Header
Competition: 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
PORTUGAL GO TO BRAZIL: Sweden 2-3 Portugal - November 19, 2013Location: Solna, Sweden
Type of goal: Left-foot, left-foot, right-foot
Competition: 2014 FIFA World Cup Qualifying
Portugal versus Sweden was billed as the battle of two of the sport's biggest characters. Ronaldo's Portugal against Zlatan Ibrahimovic's Sweden with the winner earning a place in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Despite giving his country a 1-0 lead in the first leg, Ronaldo headed to Solna, Sweden knowing the tie was far from over.
The match lived up to its billing, finishing 3-2 with all five goals coming from either Ronaldo or Ibrahimovic.
The Portuguese scored first before the Swede hit two to pull the aggregate score level but Ronaldo was to have the last laugh.
Two goals within two minutes sent Portugal to Brazil and Ronaldo also equaled Pauelta's record for most goals for Portugal.
PORTUGAL'S TOP SCORER: Cameroon 1-5 Portugal - March 5, 2014Location: Leiria, Portugal
Type of goal: Right-foot, right-foot
Competition: Friendly
Not the most important fixture in Portugal's history, but a truly milestone day for Ronaldo.
His brace in a 5-1 friendly win over Cameroon saw him become his country's all-time top goalscorer, surpassing the record that had previously been held by striker Pauleta.
His first was a stunning low strike from outside the box, while his second was a snapshot finish from just behind the penalty spot.
"I knew it would come eventually," Ronaldo said after breaking the record.
"It's special because I've been in the national team for 10 years now. It's all down to hard work."
Goal 50: Ghana 1-2 Portugal - June 26, 2014Location: Brasilia, Brazil
Type of goal: Left-foot
Competition: 2014 FIFA World Cup
Goal 51: Denmark 0-1 Portugal - October 14, 2014Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
Type of goal: Header
Competition: UEFA Euro 2016 Qualifying
Goal 52: Portugal 1-0 Armenia - November 14, 2014Location: Faro, Portugal
Type of goal: Right-foot
Competition: UEFA Euro 2016 Qualifying
Goals 53, 54, and 55: Armenia 2-3 Portugal - June 13, 2015Location: Yerevan, Armenia
Type of goal: Penalty, right-foot, right-foot
Competition: UEFA Euro 2016 Qualifying
Goal 56: Belgium 1-2 Portugal - March 29, 2016Location: Leira, Portugal
Type of goal: Header
Competition: Friendly
Goals 57 and 58: Portugal 7-0 Estonia - June 8, 2016Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Type of goal: Header, right-foot
Competition: Friendly
Goals 59 and 60: Hungary 3-3 Portugal - June 22, 2016Location: Lyon, France
Type of goal: Right-foot, header
Competition: UEFA Euro 2016
RONALDO SENDS PORTUGAL TO THE EURO FINAL: Wales 0-2 Portugal - July 6, 2016Location: Lyon, France
Type of goal: Header
Competition: UEFA Euro 2016
In 2016, Ronaldo came up against his club teammate Gareth Bale with both hoping to be the man to send their country to the Euro final.
In the end, it was Portugal who were victorious, reaching only the second European Championship final in its history.
Ronaldo opened the scoring with a magnificent header in which he seemed to float in the sky before firing the ball goalwards. Three minutes later, Nani scored to put the result beyond doubt.
Ronaldo also equaled Michel Platini's record of nine European Championship goals.
Portugal would go on to win Euro 2016, beating hosts France 1-0 in the final thanks to an extra-time goal from Eder.
Goals 62, 63, 64, and 65: Portugal 6-0 Andorra - October 7, 2016Location: Aveiro, Portugal
Type of goal: Left-foot, header, right-foot, left-foot
Competition: FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifying
Goal 66: Faroe Islands 0-6 Portugal - October 10, 2016Location: Torshavn, Faroe Islands
Type of goal: Left-foot
Competition: FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifying
Goals 67 and 68: Portugal 4-1 Latvia - November 13, 2016Location: Faro, Portugal
Type of goal: Penalty, right-foot
Competition: FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifying
Goals 69 and 70: Portugal 3-0 Hungary - March 25, 2017Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Type of goal: Left-foot, free-kick
Competition: FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifying
Goal 71: Portugal 2-3 Sweden - March 28, 2017Location: Funchal, Portugal
Type of goal: Right-foot
Competition: Friendly
Goals 72 and 73: Latvia 0-3 Portugal - June 9, 2017Location: Riga, Latvia
Type of goal: Header, header
Competition: FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifying
Goal 74: Russia 0-1 Portugal - June 21, 2017—Squawka News (@SquawkaNews) June 21, 2017
Location: Moscow, Russia
Type of goal: Header
Competition: 2017 Confederations Cup
Goal 75: New Zealand 0-4 Portugal - June 24, 2017Location: Saint Petersburg, Russia
Type of goal: Penalty
Competition: 2017 Confederations Cup
RONALDO OVERTAKES PELE: Portugal 5-1 Faroe Islands - August 31, 2017—Pelé (@Pele) September 1, 2017
Location: Porto, Portugal
Type of goal: Right-foot, penalty, left-foot
Competition: FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifying
Ronaldo's 48th career hat-trick and fifth for Portugal saw him surpass Brazil legend Pele in the all-time international scoring charts.
Pele, who scored 77 goals for Brazil between 1957 and 1971, congratulated Ronaldo on the achievement and also urged him to go on and break his own (very contentious) career goalscoring record.
"Of course, these are different times, but the beautiful thing about football is the goals. And I take this opportunity to send a big greeting to Cristiano Ronaldo for that victory," he told Goal.
"Now he has to score more than 1,283 goals!"
Pele ACTUALLY scored 757 goals during his career, a total Ronaldo went on to beat earlier this year.
Goal 79: Andorra 0-2 Portugal - October 7, 2017Location: Andorra la Vella, Andorra
Type of goal: Left-foot
Competition: FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifying
Goals 80 and 81: Egypt 1-2 Portugal - March 23, 2018Location: Zurich, Switzerland
Type of goal: Header, header
Competition: Friendly
A WORLD CUP HAT-TRICK: Spain 3-3 Portugal - June 15, 2018Location: Sochi, Russia
Type of goal: Penalty, left-foot, free-kick
Competition: FIFA 2018 World Cup
Having become Portugal's youngest player to score at a World Cup in 2006, 12 years later and he became the oldest player to ever score a World Cup hat-trick.
Facing Spain in Russia, Ronaldo's first came from the spot via a penalty he won himself. The second was a hopeful hit that should have been saved by Spanish keeper David De Gea, but the United shot-stopper spilled it into the net.
The third to seal the hat-trick was a trademark free kick. From just outside the box, he curled the ball over the wall and into the top right corner of the goal, giving De Gea zero chance of reaching it.
The game ended at 3-3 and was probably the game of the tournament.
Goal 85: Morocco 0-1 Portugal - June 20, 2018Location: Moscow, Russia
Type of goal: Header
Competition: FIFA 2018 World Cup
THE NATIONS LEAGUE WINNER: Portugal 3-1 Switzerland - June 5, 2019Location: Porto, Portugal
Type of goal: Free-kick, right-foot, right-foot
Competition: 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals
The 2018/19 season saw the inaugural season of the UEFA Nations League, an international soccer competition involving all of Europe's men's national teams.
After cruising through the group stages, Portugal faced Switzerland in the semifinals, where Ronaldo hit a sublime hat-trick to book his country's place in the final.
Portugal went on to the beat the Netherlands in the final and claim its second ever international trophy — in no short part, thanks to Ronaldo.
Goal 89: Serbia 2-4 Portugal - September 7, 2019Location: Belgrade, Serbia
Type of goal: Right-foot
Competition: UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifying
Goals 90, 91, 92, and 93: Lithuania 1-5 Portugal - September 10, 2019—Deji Faremi (@deejayfaremi) September 11, 2019
Location: Vilnius, Lithuania
Type of goal: Penalty, right-foot, right-foot, right-foot
Competition: UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifying
Goal 94: Portugal 3-0 Luxembourg - October 11, 2019Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Type of goal: Right-foot
Competition: UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifying
HIS 700TH GOAL: Ukraine 2-1 Portugal - October 14, 2019Location: Kyiv, Ukraine
Type of goal: Penalty
Competition: UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifying
It may have been part of a 2-1 loss, but when Ronaldo scored against Ukraine in the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers, he joined an elite list of players to have scored 700 goals for club and country.
Ronaldo is one of just six players in the history of the sport to have achieved this feat and one of two alongside Lionel Messi to still be playing.
Goals 96, 97, and 98: Portugal 6-0 Lithuania - November 14, 2019Location: Faro, Portugal
Type of goal: Penalty, right-foot, right-foot
Competition: UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifying
Goal 99: Luxembourg 0-2 Portugal - November 17, 2019Location: Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
Type of goal: Right-foot
Competition: UEFA Euro 2020 Qualifying
100 UP: Sweden 0-2 Portugal - September 8, 2020Location: Solna, Sweden
Type of goal: Free-kick, right-foot
Competition: 2020/21 UEFA Nations League
Ronaldo became only the second player in soccer history to score a century of international goals when he hit a brace against Sweden in the 2020/21 UEFA Nations League.
The milestone goal came just before half-time following a foul just outside the Sweden penalty area, which presented Ronaldo with the opportunity to step up and fire an unstoppable free-kick into the top corner.
"I managed to beat this milestone of 100 goals and now [I'll go] for the record," the then-Juventus star said after the match.
"It's step-by-step. I am not obsessed because I believe the records come in a natural way."
Goal 102: Portugal 7-0 Andorra - November 11, 2020Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Type of goal: Header
Competition: Friendly
Goal 103: Luxembourg 1-3 Portugal - March 30, 2021Location: Luxembourg City, Luxembourg
Type of goal: Right-foot
Competition: FIFA 2022 World Cup Qualifying
Goal 104: Portugal 4-0 Israel - June 9, 2021Location: Lisbon, Portugal
Type of goal: Left-foot
Competition: Friendly
SCORING IN 5 EUROS: Hungary 0-3 Portugal - June 15, 2021Location: Budapest, Hungary
Type of goal: Penalty, left-foot
Competition: UEFA Euro 2020
Like Messi, one of the most impressive achievements of Ronaldo's career is his sheer longevity.
In 2021, he became the first player to score at five different European championships and also extended his run of goals in consecutive major tournaments to 11.
In his country's opening game of the tournament, Ronaldo scored twice including one from the spot and a left-foot finish to cap off a slick passing move between himself and Rafa Silva in the 92nd minute.
Despite going out in the round of 16 to Belgium, Ronaldo would end as the tournament's top scorer on five goals alongside the Czech Republic's Patrik Schick.
Goal 107: Germany 4-2 Portugal - June 19, 2021Location: Munich, Germany
Type of goal: Left-foot
Competition: UEFA Euro 2020
Goals 108 and 109: France 2-2 Portugal - June 23, 2021Location: Budapest, Hungary
Type of goal: Penalty, penalty
Competition: UEFA Euro 2020
RECORD BREAKER: Portugal 2-1 Republic of Ireland - September 1, 2021Location: Faro, Portugal
Type of goal: Header, header
Competition: FIFA 2022 World Cup Qualifying
Just days after completing a surprise return to Manchester United, Ronaldo become the highest international goalscorer of all-time.
And he couldn't have done it in more fitting fashion, nodding home two hallmark headers in the final moments to hand Portugal a dramatic 2-1 victory over the Republic of Ireland.
His first was his 110th goal for his country, moving him one past the 109 Ali Daei hit for Iran between 1993 and 2006.
After breaking Daei's record, Ronaldo said: "I'm not closing the count just yet."