Topics: Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal, Euro 2024
It had to be him, didn't it. Cristiano Ronaldo netted his 865th career goal to give Portugal the lead in their EURO 2024 qualifier against Liechtenstein.
The 38-year-old forward, who is showing no signs of slowing down for club and country this season, scored his 108th competitive international goal for Portugal on Thursday night.
To their credit, underdogs Liechtenstein made it to half-time with a clean sheet but with 46 minutes on the clock, Ronaldo made up for a goalless 45 minutes at the Rheinpark.
As you can see from the footage below, Liverpool forward Diogo Jota delivered a perfectly-weighed outside-of-the-boot pass to the Al Nassr forward, who slotted away with a clinical finish.
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He is now the joint top-scorer in EURO 2024 qualifying [10] alongside Belgium's Romelu Lukaku.
We already know Ronaldo intends to play for Portugal at Euro 2024, despite previously claiming last winter's World Cup would be his final international tournament.
Speaking at the Quinas de Ouro ceremony in September last year, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid forward claimed he wants to lead the national team to glory in 2024.
"I hope to be a part of the Federation for a few more years. I still feel motivated, my ambition is high," he said.
"My path in the national team is not over. We have many quality youngsters. I will be at the World Cup and I want to be at the European Championship."
Ahead of Thursday's clash in Group J, Diogo Jota opened up about looking up to teammate Cristiano Ronaldo.
"You have a lot of energy when you are young but you still do a lot of mistakes and you always learn with experience," he said.
"I always look up to [Cristiano] Ronaldo, for example, and I think he scored more goals since he has been over 30 than before he was 30, so that shows as well it’s doable.
"It also means if you are 26 you can be away from your prime and that’s what I expect – and that’s what I work for as well every day."
