Cristiano Ronaldo was able to change the outcome of the game on the night of his outstanding solo performance.
Equal with Ali Daei as the Worlds Top international striker, Ronaldo needed just one goal to hold the record on his own. The chance to achieve that came quite early in the match against the Republic of Ireland in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 European qualifiers.
Portugal was awarded a penalty and after a long-drawn discussion and VAR which seriously took a long time, Ronaldo took the penalty but Ireland’s young keeper Gavin Bazunu saved.
But despite a lackluster performance by the 36 years old, the ending was a thriller. In the 89th Minute, Ronaldo scored the equalizer for Portugal and in the dying seconds of the match, he scored the winner in injury time, both goals coming from headers.
In midst of his excitement, the Manchester United forward took off his jersey in celebration and was given a yellow card.
Later, Cristiano Ronaldo has extended a heartfelt apology to his Portugal teammates despite guiding them to a thrilling 2-1 comeback win over the Republic of Ireland. Ronaldo missed a penalty in the opening exchanges of the game but made up for it with his late brace that sealed the win for Portugal.
After achieving this record, he thanked Ali Daei on his personal page on Instagram, with the following message: