Expresso Platform: Big Games | Is this the week that Cristiano Ronaldo becomes the all-time leading scorer in national teams?

Portugal international soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo is just one goal away from achieving the world’s top scorer for the national teams and could do so on Wednesday, against the Republic of Ireland, in a qualifying match for the 2022 World Cup.

Currently, the 36-year-old, who left Juventus on Friday to return to Manchester United, shares 109 goals with Iran’s Ali Daei.

The ‘Quina’ captain could have topped the number at Euro 2020, which was played between June and July due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but ended up leaving it empty against Belgium (1-0), in Seville, in the round of 16 of the final, in what was the last match for Portugal.

At Estádio Algarve, against the Republic of Ireland, they will finally be able to isolate themselves at the top, and if they don’t, they will have two new chances. Six days later, Portugal will play Azerbaijan, in Baku, and in the middle, on Saturday, against Qatar, in a special match that will be held in the Hungarian city of Debrecen.

Cristiano Ronaldo entered Euro 2020 with 104 goals, five of the record set by Ali Daei, but he scored two goals from the start, against Hungary (3-0), in Budapest, despite already close to the end of the match, first in the 87th minute., In converting a penalty, the second at 90 + 2.

He took a long time in ‘money’ against the Hungarians, against Germany, the team he never scored, he signed a goal after 15 minutes, Diogo Jota presented it on a plate, in a goal that did not stop him, however, a 4-2 defeat, And that threatens to even take on other dimensions.

In the third match, Ronaldo faced the team in which he played most times without scoring goals, but in the seventh attempt he doubled thanks to two penalties, converted in the 31st and 60th minutes, and the second to equal 109 historical goals for the presence of Daei. .

With five goals at Euro 2020, Ronaldo also isolated himself as the top scorer in European history: he needed only one goal, but he added five, for a total of 14, already five more than Frenchman Michel Platini (nine in 1984, in five matches. ).

The Portuguese captain is also the player with the most appearances in Europe, with a total of 24 matches, and the only player to have played in five final stages of the European Championship, in a true case study of longevity, with no end in sight. .

So far, he has scored 790 goals in 1,093 official matches he has played since turning professional in 2002/03.