Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 127 goals for Portugal. He is the leading scorer in international soccer, which should be the right time to discuss the top five countries against which he has scored the most goals in his career.
It isn’t surprising that all five countries in this list are from Europe. The Portuguese forward has scored 40 goals in 42 games in UEFA Euro qualifying, a competition where he has the highest scoring ratio.
5. Hungary
Ronaldo has faced Hungary six times in his career, and during those appearances, he has scored six goals. The forward met the Europeans in Euro 2016 and Euro 2020. In those two appearances, he scored braces on each occasion and earned the man of the match award.
ON THIS DAY 7 YEARS AGO:
Cristiano Ronaldo scored this UNREAL BACKHEEL goal against Hungary at the EURO 2016.
He scored 2 GOALS & provided 1 ASSIST in a 3-3 draw and saved Portugal from getting knocked out. 🐐
— CristianoXtra (@CristianoXtra_) June 22, 2023
The remaining two goals came when Ronaldo met Hungary in Group B of the World Cup qualifiers of the 2018 edition. He scored a brace again in a 3-0 victory to earn yet another man of the match award. Ronaldo has scored three braces in Hungary while blanking the other three times.
4. Andorra
Ronaldo has also scored six goals against Andorra, but only three matches which place them higher on this list. The forward faced this European side two times during the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. At home, he scored four goals against them in a 6-0 victory. Meanwhile, in the away fixture, he managed to score a goal in a 45-minute appearance.
It’s been two years since Cristiano Ronaldo became the all-time men’s leader in international hat tricks with TEN:
Northern Ireland ⚽⚽⚽
Sweden ⚽⚽⚽
Armenia ⚽⚽⚽
Andorra ⚽⚽⚽⚽
Faroe Islands ⚽⚽⚽
Spain ⚽⚽⚽
Switzerland ⚽⚽⚽
Lithuania ⚽⚽⚽⚽
Lithuania ⚽⚽⚽… pic.twitter.com/dbVyuQNFdX— B/R Football (@brfootball) October 12, 2023
Ronaldo scored another goal against Andorra when they met in an international friendly back in 2020. The forward played 45 minutes on that occasion and scored a goal and assist in a 7-0 victory. The four-goal performance by Ronaldo in 2016 is the sole factor that Andorra has made the list.
3. Sweden
Ronaldo has met the native country of Zlatan Ibrahimović seven times and during those appearances, he has scored seven goals against them. The Swedish side got the worst of Ronaldo when the sides met in the World Cup qualification playoffs for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Ronaldo scored four goals in two legs, including a hat trick away from home, to book Portugal’s place in the World Cup in Brazil. Sweden managed to keep Ronaldo quieter in other appearances, as the forward only scored three goals in the rest of the five appearances.
2. Lithuania
Ronaldo has faced Lithuania only three times in his career but has managed to score seven goals against them. The ratio of 2.33 goals per match is the highest in this list and the reason why they are placed above Sweden in here.
ON THIS DAY IN 2019:
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a Super Hat-trick for Portugal against Lithuania in the EURO 2020 qualifier.
— CristianoXtra (@CristianoXtra_) September 10, 2023
Ronaldo met Lithuania two times in 2019 for Euro qualifies. In the away fixture, he scored four goals against them, while in the home fixture, he scored a hat trick against the minnows. The forward met them once in 2004 in an international friendly but failed to score a goal against them in a cameo of 26 minutes.
1. Luxembourg
Luxembourg ranks top in this list after conceding 11 goals against Ronaldo in 11 appearances. The ratio of one goal per match is respectable for the European minnows as compared to some other teams on the list, but being the only team that has conceded double figures of goals is concerning.
Best football team ever
(@BTC365OFFICIAL ) pic.twitter.com/3VZcAfwcCz
— Troll Football (@TrollFootball) November 15, 2023
Luxembourg has managed to keep Ronaldo quite occasionally, but Ronaldo has managed to score a hat trick and a brace against the European side in the World Cup and European qualifiers. Ronaldo has been so efficient against this side that ‘Luxembourg Ronaldo’ has become a prominent meme in soccer culture.
Cristiano Ronaldo will go down as one of the greatest goalscorers of all time. He made his debut back in 2003 against Kazakhstan and has never stopped since. The fans of these nations will surely breathe easy when Ronaldo announces his retirement from the international stage.