Ranking Cristiano Ronaldo's 10 Best Portugal Goals
On this day in 2003, Cristiano Ronaldo made his international debut for Portugal, a fleet-footed winger who had recently swapped Sporting CP for Manchester United.
Little more than a decade later, he had become the national team's all-time leading goalscorer, surpassing the likes of Luis Figo, Eusebio and, finally, Pauleta on the way. His current tally stands at a whopping 74 international goals from just shy of 150 caps, comfortably the highest scorer still active at that level and joint seventh of all time.
Level with Sandor Kocsis, two behind Pele, nine behind Ferenc Puskas and a full 34 behind the all-time highest scorer, Iran's Ali Daei, Ronaldo is certainly in exalted company, and few would bet against him going on to rise far higher in the charts before he calls time on his international career.
For such a regular scorer of goals, selecting his 10 finest isn't an easy task, but that's what we've set out to do using such criteria as importance of strike and memorability, though more heavily weighted, of course, is the aesthetic value of the goal.
10. Hungary
A recent goal first up, with Ronaldo proving now, even after a switch for club and country to a more centre-forward role than his traditional wide-forward position, that he can still have a big influence outside the penalty area.
The World Cup qualifier against Hungary saw Ronaldo net twice, the first of which was a tremendous low strike with his left foot into the bottom corner after good linkup play and control with the underside of his boot.
He hit a brace on the day back in March, helping Portugal to a 3-0 victory and three points on the road to qualification. His nation currently sit in second in Group B, three points behind Switzerland but well clear of Hungary themselves, who sit in third.
9. Wales
Ask any fan to name the archetypal Ronaldo goal and they'll likely give you one of three answers: cutting in and shooting on his right foot, racing into the six-yard box to get on the end of a cut-back, or a powerful header.
In Euro 2016, it was the latter that Ronaldo came up with, towering above the Wales defence off a corner and sending a bullet header past the goalkeeper to help Portugal win their semi-final tie, moving on to the final itself.
Of course, they'd beat France after extra time in the final, with Ronaldo by then watching on from the sidelines, injured early on—but this effort helped get them there.
8. Bosnia
Portugal needed a play-off to reach Euro 2012, and they faced Bosnia-Herzegovina to get there. What might have been a tight tie, 0-0 after the first leg, ended up 6-2 to Portugal in the second, thanks to a brace from Ronaldo including one in the opening minutes.
His free-kick from at least 35 yards was superbly struck, dipping fiercely over the wall and into the bottom corner before the goalkeeper could get anywhere near.
Perhaps questions of the positioning of Asmir Begovic could be asked, but really, he could have been stood dead centrally for the effort and he might not have saved it, such was the swerve and venom of the strike.
7. Sweden
Ronaldo isn't just a goalscorer against the poorest sides around, he frequently comes to the fore when his team need him most.
That was the case in the play-offs for the 2014 World Cup, where Portugal faced Sweden, a Cristiano-Zlatan Ibrahimovic shootout of sorts that the No. 7 duly won. He'd already scored in the first leg, but he went on and notched a hat-trick in the second in a 3-2 win—Zlatan scored Sweden's goals—to send his nation through.
His first, just after the break, showcased his pace, dribbling and composure in the finish, though there was more to come.
6. Latvia
Portugal shouldn't have too much trouble ending their World Cup qualifying campaign in the top two, and top spot is still up for grabs. Earlier in the campaign, Ronaldo put Latvia to the sword with a pair of goals in the 4-1 win.
They were goals 67 and 68 of his international career; the latter (visible from 3:30 here) was a spectacular mid-air volley on the side, ensuring three points for his nation and pushing the forward ever clearer as the record scorer for his nation.
5. Denmark
There was a time when Cristiano Ronaldo was known for his unstoppable free-kicks; that time might have passed on, but the reminder of why he became so feared for a period remains.
Qualification for Euro 2012 saw his side go up against Denmark; they suffered defeat on this occasion in Copenhagen, but Ronaldo left an indelible mark on the game in stoppage time with a quite frankly ridiculous set-piece strike.
A swerving, dipping hammer-shot, arrowed into the top corner from 30 yards or more, it left the 'keeper with no chance.
4. Sweden
Earlier we saw Ronaldo's opener against Sweden in the World Cup 2014 qualifier; now he wraps up his hat-trick.
Racing on to an angled through pass, Ronaldo's first touch took the ball around the goalkeeper, the second set himself and the third hammered in his treble goal to send Portugal all the way to Brazil.
It's worth noting that three minutes before this third goal, Portugal were 2-1 down; a quick-fire pair of goals totally turned things around and left Zlatan and Co. with a free summer.
3. Hungary
Back into the Euros themselves now, 2016 and a reminder that Portugal's run to the final didn't start and end with victories. Indeed, they drew all three group-stage fixtures, qualifying for the knockouts by virtue of a better goal difference than Albania and Turkey.
Against Hungary in the final group game, Ronaldo came to life, scoring twice—including this sumptuous back-heeled effort from inside the penalty box.
Croatia, Poland and Wales were then vanquished en route to the final against France.
2. Armenia
The top two are hard to separate and it's extremely subjective: Is control, poise and coolness better than explosive action and searing strikes?
We've opted to say yes, so it's Ronaldo's blistering cannonball from range against Armenia that takes the runner-up spot. As if the strike itself wasn't enough, this one was for a hat-trick.
They must have been sick of the sight of the No. 7; in two qualifying matches just seven months apart, Ronaldo scored four times against Armenia, with Portugal winning 1-0 and 3-2 as a result.
1. Ecuador
Top of the charts was in a less meaningful game and earlier in his career, 2013 and a friendly fixture against Ecuador.
That means little when you witness, or indeed score in Ronaldo's case, a truly remarkable and memorable goal such as this one: a run off the back of the defender, latching on to a back-heeled pass, lifting the ball back over the same defender in sombrero fashion before unleashing an unstoppable half-volley across the face of goal and into the far corner of the net.
Ronaldo's finest goal on the international stage and just one of 75 so far—and counting.
.jpg?w=600 "Offseason Moves for Every Team 👉")
.png?w=600 "New NBA Mock Draft 📝")
.jpg?w=600 "Ranking Every Team's Farm System 📊")