Cristiano Ronaldo’s incredible international goalscoring record in focus

Cristiano Ronaldo has announced his retirement from international football (Zed Jameson/PA)
Cristiano Ronaldo has announced his retirement from international football (Zed Jameson/PA)
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Cristiano Ronaldo ends his Portugal career as the most prolific goalscorer in international football history, netting a sensational 146 times in 234 appearances.

Here, the Press Association looks at how his achievement breaks down.

European Championship

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, right, scores a header against Wales in the Euro 2016 semi-final
Cristiano Ronaldo scores against Wales in the Euro 2016 semi-final (Mike Egerton/PA)

Ronaldo took the field at six Euros and signs off as the top scorer in the competition’s history with 14 goals in 30 games. He made his first appearance in 2004 – scoring against Greece and the Netherlands in his six matches.

Three games in 2008 brought a goal against the Czech Republic, against whom he also netted four years later in addition to a brace against the Dutch.

A semi-final header against Wales as Portugal won Euro 2016 added to his double against Hungary, a feat he repeated at Euro 2020 where he also scored twice against France and once against Germany.

He started all five games in 2024 but did not add to his tally as his side exited in the quarter-finals.

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo with the trophy after the Euro 2016 final
Ronaldo and Portugal were victorious at Euro 2016 (Joe Giddens/PA)

Qualifying has also been a fertile hunting ground, with 41 goals in five campaigns. His high mark came with 11 in eight matches on the road to Euro 2020.

World Cup

Ronaldo hit the target 11 times on the biggest stage of all and is the only man to score in six different editions.

Having already become the first man to score at five different World Cup finals, he added three more in this summer’s tournament. Prior to that he scored one in 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2022 and four in 2018, including a memorable hat-trick against Spain.

He also notched a record 41 goals in 52 qualifiers, bolstered by a remarkable tally of 15 in nine games en route to the 2018 World Cup. He scored seven, eight and six in qualification for 2006, 2014 and 2022 respectively, as well as five leading into this year’s competition. He drew a rare blank in seven games ahead of the 2010 finals.

Opponents

Frequent qualifying draws against Luxembourg have contributed to the total, with the minnows on the end of 11 Ronaldo goals over the years. Hungary are another favourite opponent, absorbing nine of his goals, while he has seven against Lithuania, Armenia and Sweden.

In all, he scored against 49 nations – but never added England to his list.

Who, how and when

In terms of assists, Ricardo Quaresma and Joao Moutinho were Ronaldo’s top accomplices, teeing him up eight times each. He converted 23 times from the penalty spot and added 11 more from direct free-kicks.

He scored 61 times in the first half and 85 after half-time. When it comes to how he scored, the split shows a clear preference with 85 right-footed shots, to go with 33 left-footed efforts and 28 headers.

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