MY ACCOUNT
Cristiano Ronaldo is the world’s leading male international goalscorer and his contributions for Portugal over the last 20 years have been seismic.
The veteran forward has scored some spectacular goals and has come up clutch on several occasions — helping his nation win their first major honour in 2016.
Ahead of the last-16 tie with Switzerland, we take a look at five of Ronaldo’s best international strikes.
Portugal 3-3 Spain (2018)
The 2018 World Cup did not end in glory for Ronaldo but he did play his part in helping Portugal progress past the group stages.
Drawn into Group B with Morocco, Spain and Iran, the No7 knew he had to be at the peak of his powers to carry his country through in Russia.
The match against Spain was a thriller for the neutral — Ronaldo had already bagged a brace but found himself 3-2 down in the 90th minute.
Drawing a foul on the edge of the box, he stepped up and curled past David de Gea, who could only watch the ball sail past him.
The point ended up earning Portugal a place in the latter stages of the tournament but they fell to Uruguay in the last 16.
Hungary 3-3 Portugal (2016)
Ronaldo’s brace against Hungary back in Euro 2016 was crucial in Portugal’s run to the final and eventual triumph over France.
The European giants found themselves behind on three occasions in the game and Ronaldo brought them back from the depths twice.
His first, at 1-0 down, was a special flick from a cross — the former Manchester United man wrong-footed the keeper to become the first player to score at four European Championships.
At 3-2 down, Ronaldo struck again. This time with a deft header that soared past Gabor Kiraly to tie the game.
Portugal did not win the match but the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s contributions sealed passage to the knockout stages.
Armenia 2-3 Portugal (2015)
Ronaldo provided another masterclass in a Euros qualifier against Armenia in 2016, netting a hat-trick to seal victory for Fernando Santos’ side.
Portugal went 1-0 down early on before the phenom equalised from the penalty spot.
He then scored twice in three minutes — including a stunning long-range effort — to prevent an Armenian comeback.
The Real Madrid legend was given acres of space in the final third and he thundered an effort into the top right corner, leaving goalkeeper Roman Berezovsky with no chance.
It may have only been a qualifier but Ronaldo’s strike will mean that the match lives on in the memory of most football fans.
Portugal 2-3 Ecuador (2013)
The only game to make it onto our list where Ronaldo was on the losing side but his goal against Ecuador deserves a mention.
In a match of no significance, the ex-Juventus striker pulled off an outrageous piece of skill and topped it with an incredible finish to draw his team level at the time.
Reaching an overhit cross, Ronaldo flicked the ball over the head of an Ecuadorian defender and smashed home a half-volley.
It was a goal of the highest standard — even for one of the greatest of all time — and it has been earmarked as one of his most memorable strikes.
There is still time for him to add another worldie to his collection, but he will do well to beat his goal in Guimaraes.
Portugal 2-1 Netherlands (2012)
The Netherlands were a hot favourite to win Euro 2012 having made the final of the World Cup two years earlier.
In this last-16 clash, Ronaldo came up with the goods once again to secure Portugal’s passage to the quarter-finals by scoring a brace in Kharkiv.
Rafael van der Vaart gave the Dutch the lead but the Madeira-born talisman was deadly on the counter-attack and equalised soon after.
Ronaldo struck again in the second half, showing calmness and composure to cut back onto his right before wrong-footing the keeper and slotting home.
The victory saw Portugal continue their charge but they fell short once again, losing to Spain on penalties in the semi-finals.
