Sports

Ronaldo takes aim at new record with national team

Lisbon, Mar 22 (efe-epa).- Cristiano Ronaldo reports for international duty with yet another record in sight — to become the all-time top scorer on the international stage.

The Portuguese star is now seven goals shy of Iranian Ali Daei’s record of 109 goals.

This tally could be within touching distance given that Portugal will play Azerbaijan, Serbia and Luxembourg in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Ronaldo scored his first ever goal for Portugal against Greece in the 2004 Euro opening match, nearly a year after making his international debut in August 2003 against Kazakhstan.

Since then, the five-time Ballon D’or winner has scored 101 goals.

On the club level, he first scored for Sporting on August 14, 2002, before joining Manchester United.

Matching the record would mean reaching his 777th career goal, as his tally currently stands at 770 he notched with Sporting, Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus and the national team according to the Transfermarkt website.

A fresh record could prove handy for the 36-year-old who was partly blamed for Juventus’ Champions League last-16 departure at the hands of Porto as he broke from the wall before Sérgio Oliveira’s set piece found the back of the net through Ronaldo’s legs.

Portugal will face Azerbaijan in Turin on March 24, before taking on Serbia in Belgrade on March 27 and they will play Luxembourg at home on March 30. EFE-EPA

cgg/ta/jt

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