Cristiano Ronaldo was on target for Portugal in their Euro 2020 qualifier against Luxembourg as he edged closer to a landmark 700 career goals.
The Portugal skipper struck in the 65th minute of his team’s 3-0 win, producing a delightful lobbed finish which puts him on 94 goals in 161 appearances for his country.
The goal came as Ronaldo pinched the ball in the Luxembourg half before racing clear and chipping the ball delicately over goalkeeper Anthony Morris to put his team 2-0 ahead.
The 34-year-old is now on a total of 699 goals for club and country in his career as he aims to become just the sixth person to reach the 700-goal milestone.
While records for previous generations are sketchier, it is believed that the Czech Republic’s Josef Bican scored 805 goals in official games between 1931 and 1955.
Brazil legends Romario and Pele are widely credited with 772 and 767 official goals respectively during their careers (although Pele is believed to have scored more than 1,000 including unofficial games), while Hungarian legend Ferenc Puskas bagged 746.
German hotshot Gerd Muller struck 735 times, and will be well within range for Ronaldo.
The Portugal star’s great rival Lionel Messi is on 672, but has time on his side as he is two years younger.
Playmaker Bernardo Silva and winger Goncalo Guedes were also on target for European champions Portugal on Friday night as they won 3-0 against minnows Luxembourg, keeping them second in Group B, four points ahead of Serbia in third but five points behind leaders Ukraine, who have played one game more.
Ronaldo will have the chance to break the 700 barrier when he travels with his team to face Ukraine in Kiev on Monday.
Comments are closed.