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November 13 2024, 13:00 · Alex Sarwar
Updated: November 18 2024, 17:57

All of Cristiano Ronaldo’s international goals for Portugal

All of Cristiano Ronaldo’s international goals for Portugal

Cristiano Ronaldo currently boasts the world record for number of goals scored across men's international football, having found the net 135 times for Portugal so far over the course of his glittering career.

From his first senior international goal as a 19-year-old at EURO 2004 back in June 2004, Ronaldo has never looked back. He has since gone on to become one of the most prolific goalscorers of his generation, consistently delivering for his country on the big stage.

Of those 135 goals, 14 came at the UEFA European Championships, whilst eight have been scored at the FIFA World Cup. Ronaldo boasts at least one goal in all five World Cups in which he has competed in, also a record.

But as Ronaldo reaches the twilight of his career, we examine how he has managed to prove so successful for Portugal and analyse the numbers behind all his international goals. This data will be updated each time he finds the net for his country.

Last updated on 18/11/24

BY YEAR

  • Ronaldo’s best year in front of goal for Portugal came in 2019, when he scored 14 goals across all competitions.
  • Since his international debut in 2004, Ronaldo has reached a double-figure number of goals in six separate years.

BY COMPETITION

  • Well over half of Ronaldo’s 135 goals (77 in total) have been scored across all the qualification campaigns played throughout his career for both the World Cup and the European Championships.
  • As it stands, he boasts 22 goals across those two major international tournaments.

BY PITCH AREA

  • Ronaldo comes to life inside the penalty area, with 61.5% of his international goals having been scored in that area of pitch (this does not include goals inside the 6-yard box).
  • 22 of his 135 goals were scored from outside the penalty area.

METHOD OF GOALS

  • Clearly Ronaldo prefers to utilise his right foot, having used it to score 55.6% of his international goals so far.
  • Although he rightly boasts a reputation across his career for being a huge aerial threat, ‘CR7’ has scored more goals for Portugal with his unfavoured left foot (32), than he has headers (28)

BY HALF

  • The numbers suggest that the longer a match goes on, the more dangerous Ronaldo becomes, having scored 25 more goals in the second half of matches compared to the first half.
  • Despite having competed in knockout tournament matches that have gone into extra-time, Ronaldo has yet to find the net for Portugal across any period of extra-time.

BY MINUTE

  • Once again adding weight to the argument that Ronaldo poses a greater goal threat in the latter stages of games, the Portuguese superstar has accumulated 37 goals past the 75th minute.
  • This adds up to over 27% (over a quarter) of his international goals, compared to only 11.1% of goals scored by Ronaldo in the first 15 minutes of Portugal matches.

NATIONS SCORED AGAINST

  • Ronaldo is now just two away from having found the net against 50 separate nations across the world.
  • European nation Luxembourg have suffered the most at the hands of Ronaldo, having conceded 11 goals against him across his career, the only nation whom he boasts a double-figure tally of goals against.

TOP ASSISTERS

  • Having played with many world class players for Portugal across a career spanning over 20 years, midfielder Joao Moutinho has set up the most number of goals for Ronaldo, nine in total.
  • In total, 38 players have assisted Ronaldo in a Portugal shirt so far, although only four have managed to do so more than five times. They include Ricardo Quaresma and Nani, both former club teammates of Ronaldo’s at Sporting Lisbon and Manchester Utd respectively.

GOALKEEPERS SCORED AGAINST

  • Ronaldo has beaten 73 goalkeepers over the course of his international career, with ten of those having conceded three or more goals when facing him.
  • The most notable of those goalkeepers would be the likes former Spain stopper David de Gea and experienced Swiss keeper Yann Sommer, although it is Anthony Moris of Luxembourg who has conceded more goals against Ronaldo than any other goalkeeper (8).