By Philip O’Connor
STOCKHOLM, Sept 8 (Reuters) – Cristiano Ronaldo netted his 100th goal for Portugal in their Nations League clash away to Sweden on Tuesday, joining Iran’s Ali Daei as the only male players to score 100 goals or more in international soccer.
Having been denied on a number of occasions by Sweden keeper Robin Olsen, the 35-year-old forward made no mistake when presented with a free kick just before halftime.
He took a short run-up and unleashed a powerful dipping effort that flew beyond Olsen’s despairing fingertips and just under the crossbar.
Ronaldo struck again in the 72nd minute, drifting in from the left before once again curling a dipping shot, this time to Olsen’s left, to put Portugal 2-0 up.
Ronaldo’s first senior goal for Portugal came in a 2-1 loss to Greece at Euro 2004 and he needs eight more to equal Daei’s record of 109 international goals.
(Reporting by Philip O’Connor; Editing by Toby Davis and Ken Ferris)
