Ronaldo graces record international with two goals, Højlund golden for Danes

Cristiano Ronaldo has added another milestone: in the European Championship qualifier against Liechtenstein, the 38-year-old Portuguese brought his number of international matches to 197, which no one in the world can match. Since Portugal was eliminated from the World Cup in Qatar by Morocco, he shared the record with Badr al-Mutawa of Kuwait.

As for Ronaldo himself, he graced the for him so joyous international with a goal after only eight minutes. But the as accidental as light touch with the heel on João Cancelo’s shot was insufficient to get on the scoresheet.

Cristiano Ronaldo was eagerly looking forward to his 197th international:

That happened after halftime and Bernardo Silva’s 2-0 equalizer. From the penalty spot, Ronaldo scored his 119th goal in Portugal’s shirt, which he first wore on Aug. 20, 2003 – as a substitute for Luís Figo – against Kazakhstan. The 4-0 also came off his shoe, from a free kick.

Rasmus Højlund was the big man for Denmark, which visited Finland in EC qualification group H and triumphed 3-1. The just 20-year-old striker from Atalanta, who completed only his third international, was single-handedly responsible for the home team’s complete production.

He slid Denmark to a lead midway through the first half, but saw Finland equalize after halftime through Oliver Antman, the also young (21) FC Groningen striker.

In the 82nd minute, Højlund headed the Danes to 2-1, and in extra time he also scored his third goal of the evening on a pass from Ajacied Mohamed Daramy, currently on loan to FC Copenhagen. They were his first goals for the national team.

Check out the standings in EC qualification groups J and H below.