Cristiano Ronaldo becomes the highest international goalscorer after matching Ali Daei’s record

Cristiano Ronaldo is now the joint highest international goalscorer, after converting two penalties against France in Portugal’s last match of the group stage. The result was ultimately a 2-2 draw, but the defending champions qualified thanks to their captain.

The first penalty was conceded after Danilo was outright punched by Hugo Lloris in an attempt to clear a set piece. Ronaldo shot left, as the French captain dived right and Portugal took the lead. 

The second came from a handball conceded by Joules Kounde in the second half. A cool and composed Portugese captain beat his French counterpart once more to level things up for good in the match. Iran legend Ali Daei took to Instagram to congratulate the 5-time Ballon d’Or winner, saying he is honoured that the record will belong to Cristiano. 

Converting two penalties is never an easy task, especially when your country’s qualification is at stake. And CR7 made no mistake either time as he beat Lloris twice to deny France a victory in Budapest. 

With 5 goals in the competition so far, Ronaldo also leads the scoring charts in Euro 2020. Three of those goals have been from penalties, with one coming against Hungary and two against France. Only Michel Platini has scored more goals than Ronaldo in the group stage, with 7 to his name in comparison to Ronaldo’s five. 

The Portugal captain will have the chance to surpass Ali Daei in the Round of 16, as they go up against the world’s number 1 ranked team, Belgium.