Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed a hat-trick in Portugal’s 2018 World Cup
qualifier on Thursday, to pass Pele on the list of top international
goal scorers.
Ronaldo’s three goals in their 5-1 win over Faroe Islands, took his
tally for his country to 78 goals, surpassing the 77 that Pele scored
for Brazil from 1957-1971.
However, the Real Madrid superstar 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 and he is now just six back of Hungary’s Ferenc
Puskas for the most international goals by a European player.
Iran’s Ali Daei is the top men’s career international goal scorer with 109 goals in 149 games.