Cristiano Ronaldo has smashed the world goalscoring record in dramatic fashion, scoring an 89th-minute equalizer and a 96th-minute winner to save Portugal against Ireland on a night when he missed a penalty.
Few could have foreseen the frustration Ronaldo would have to endure on the night when he finally broke legendary Iran striker Ali Daei’s all-time international goals total, spurning the simplest of chances to finally reach 110 goals when his 15th-minute penalty was saved by 19-year-old Manchester City goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu.
Ireland had looked set for a huge upset in the World Cup 2022 Qualifier in Faro, compounding Ronaldo’s misery following the spot kick – when the Portugal captain also became involved in a flashpoint with defender Dara O’Shea – by taking the lead through John Egan’s header after 45 minutes.
🔥 A phenomenal run of 49 goals in his last 47 Portugal appearances makes the monster from Madeira the outright leading scorer in men's international history. Take a bow, legend 🙇♂️ pic.twitter.com/WFO7XbuKr8
Just when the visitors seemed to have held out for a famous away win, Ronaldo produced one of his hallmark leaps to power a thunderous header past Bazunu from a Goncalo Guedes cross with a minute of normal time remaining, then repeated the trick from a Joao Mario with seconds to spare.
Ronaldo’s record will take some beating: the new Manchester United signing and Daei are the only two male players to have scored 90 or more goals in international football.
