Pride of Portugal
A look back at Cristiano Ronaldo’s eventful international career.
• Makes Portugal debut in 10 friendly win over Kazakhstan in August 2003.
• Selected for Portugal’s squad for Euro 2004, which the country hosted. He scores his first international goal in a 21 defeat to Greece. Helps Portugal to the final, scoring again in the semifinal against the Netherlands, before it loses to the Greeks.
• Makes his World Cup debut at the 2006 finals in Germany. Scores in the 20 win over Iran and helps Portugal reach the semifinals where it loses to France.
• Helps Portugal reach the quarterfinals at Euro 2008, scoring in the 31 win over the Czech Republic.
• Portugal is eliminated from the 2010 World Cup by Spain in the last 16 and Ronaldo spits at a television cameraman as he walks off the pitch. Finishes with one goal, in the 70 win over North Korea.
• Helps Portugal to the Euro 2012 semifinals, where it is again knocked out by Spain, this time on penalties. Ronaldo is listed as the last of the five penaltytakers but does not get to take his kick as Portugal has already lost by then. Finishes the tournament with three goals.
• Scores a hattrick in a World Cup qualifying playoff against Sweden that gives Portugal a 32 win and takes it to the following year’s finals in Brazil.
• In March 2014 overtakes Pauleta’s tally of 47 goals to become Portugal’s
record scorer.
• Ronaldo arrives at the World Cup
on the back of a knee injury and looks
out of sorts. Portugal loses its opening game 40 to Germany and goes out in the group stage. He scores once, in the 21 win over Ghana.
• Helps Portugal to win Euro 2016, its first major trophy. After missing a penalty in a 00 draw against Austria,
Ronaldo scores twice as his country
draws 33 with Hungary to squeeze into the knockout stage. He also scores in the semifinal win over Wales.
Ronaldo has to go off injured after 25 minutes of the final against France after a tackle by Dimitri Payet and spends extra time on the touchline galvanizing his teammates as they win 10.
• Scores 15 goals in 2018 World Cup qualifiers as Portugal tops its group.
• Scores hattrick in Portugal’s 2018 World Cup opener against Spain, including an 88thminute freekick to draw 33, and becomes the fourth player to score in four World Cups. Nets his 85th international goal against Morocco to become Europe’s alltime top international scorer but misses a penalty in the 11 draw with Iran. Portugal loses to Uruguay in the last 16.
• His hattrick against Switzerland helps Portugal win another trophy, the inaugural Nations League, in 2019.
• Scores four goals in a 51 Euro qualifying win away to Lithuania in October 2019. Scores three more, his ninth international hattrick, in the return match one month later and takes his Portugal tally to 99 with a late goal in a 20 win in Luxembourg which books Portugal’s place at Euro 2020.
• Scores twice in a 20 Nations League win away to Sweden to become only the second male player to score over 100 international goals after Iran’s Ali Daei (109).