Cristiano Ronaldo announced his retirement from international football on Thursday to bring down the curtain on more than two decades in the Portugal shirt. Here are his five stand-out games with the Selecao. He scored a record 146 times in a mammoth 234 appearances for his country having made his debut in 2003.
But the then Real Madrid attacker claimed Portugal’s spot at the tournament in Brazil by completing his hat-trick in two minutes. Having won the World Cup play-off first leg 1-0 against Sweden thanks to the iconic No. 7, Portugal headed to Stockholm for the return fixture. Portugal reached the Euro 2016 final having failed to win a single group game. Ronaldo’s side went into the decider against hosts France in Paris searching for their first major international trophy and to make up for the past after losing to Greece on home soil 12 years earlier. The forward left the field injured and in tears after just 25 minutes before spending the rest of the game on the touchline cheering on his teammates. Eder scored the winner in extra-time to the relief of Ronaldo and 11 million Portuguese compatriots. Fresh from winning three straight Champions Leagues with Real, Ronaldo faced Spain in Portugal’s World Cup opener in 2018.
