Cristiano Ronaldo became the highest-scoring man in international soccer history with his 110th goal for Portugal on Wednesday.
The Portugal captain scored in the 89th minute against Ireland in a World Cup qualifier, moving ahead of former Iranian striker Ali Daei. He added a second – another header – minutes later in a 2-1 Group A victory. Earlier in the game, he had a penalty saved in the 15th minute.
In another Group A match, Luxembourg beat Azerbaijan 2-1.
The 36-year-old Ronaldo, who finalized his return to Manchester United on Tuesday after leaving Juventus, was playing in his 180th game for Portugal. The forward made his debut for the national team in 2003 and began his historic scoring run at the 2004 European Championship in a 2-1 loss to Greece in the group stage.
The only two men to net more than 100 times for their countries are Ronaldo and Daei, who scored 109 goals in 149 games for Iran from 1993-2006 and played for German clubs Bayern Munich and Hearth Berlin.
The most prolific scorer in international soccer is 38-year-old Christine Sinclair of Canada, who scored her 187th goal at the Tokyo Olympics where she won gold last month.
In other World Cup qualifying games, France was held to a 1-1 home draw by Bosnia in a Group D qualifier. France remained unbeaten in four games and lead the group with eight points, four ahead of Ukraine who were held to a 2-2 draw in Kazakhstan.
Denmark beat Scotland 2-0 to stay atop Group F with four wins out of four. Israel beat Faroe Islands 4-0 and Austria beat Moldova 2-0.
In Group G, the Netherlands tied Norway 1-1 in Oslo, an inauspicious start for new coach Louis van Gaal. Unbeaten Turkey, held to a 2-2 draw by Montenegro, moved on to eight points while Norway has seven but behind the Netherlands on goal difference. Latvia beat Gibraltar 3-1.
In Group H, Slovenia tied Slovakia 1-1, Croatia tied Russia 0-0 and Malta beat Cyprus 3-0.