Cristiano Ronaldo recorded a hat trick in Portugal’s World Cup qualifier on Thursday (31), to pass Pele on the list of top international goal scorers.
Ronaldo three goals in Portugal’s 5-1 win over Faroe Islands took him to 78 for his country in his career, surpassing the 77 that Pele scored for Brazil from 1957-71.
However, Ronaldo needed 144 games to accomplish the feat, while Pele played in just 92.
It was Ronaldo’s fifth hat trick for his country, all of which have come in official qualifiers for major tournaments. He has 43 hat tricks in his club career.
He is now just six back of Hungary’s Ferenc Puskas for the most international goals by a European player. His first goal broke a tie for second with Hungary’s Sandor Kocsis.
Iran’s Ali Daei is the top men’s career international goal scorer with 109 goals in 149 games.
- ESPN
