Cristiano Ronaldo breaks Euro qualifying goal record

Cristiano Ronaldo's four goals for Portugal against Lithuania move him ahead of Robbie Keane as the highest ever scorer in Euro qualifiers.

Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo scored four goals as Portugal routed Lithuania 5-1 in Euro 2020 qualifying to take his tally to 25 goals.

Cristiano Ronaldo added another record to his collection after becoming the all-time leading goalscorer in European Championship qualifiers.

Ronaldo, 34, scored four goals as Portugal routed Lithuania 5-1 in Euro 2020 qualifying to take his tally to 25 goals.

It moved the Juventus superstar ahead of Robbie Keane, who netted 23 goals in European qualifying during his international career for the Republic of Ireland.

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Keane had even jokingly begged the Portugal star to leave this record with him, writing on Instagram : "I think you have enough records @cristiano."

 

But within seven minutes Ronaldo had his first of the night from the penalty spot before adding three further goals to take his overall international tally to 93.

Ronaldo further strengthened his position as Europe's all-time leading international scorer, with footballing great Ferenc Puskas nine behind.

It was also Ronaldo's eighth international hat-trick for the reigning European champion and Nations League winner.

Ballon d'Or? I don't think about individual prizes

Ronaldo – who is on the final shortlist for FIFA's The Best award – was asked about his chances of winning a sixth Ballon d'Or and he said: "As I always say, I don't live thinking about individual prizes.

"This is a consequence of what we collectively won. But it's good, I won't lie. The important thing was to help the team.

"I scored a goal against Serbia and four here and I'm very happy. We have to dismiss this moment and what I want most is to continue like this."

Ronaldo scored 21 Serie A goals last season – and 28 in all competitions – as Juventus won an eighth consecutive Scudetto.

This season, Ronaldo has already scored once for Juventus, which is level on points with Inter and Torino atop the Serie A table.