MADRID – With his 900th career goal, Cristiano Ronaldo defeated Luka Modric in the Nations League duel of the veterans on Thursday.
Ronaldo, 39, became the first player to reach 900 goals in official matches for club and country by scoring in Portugal’s 2-1 win over Modric’s Croatia.
“It means a lot to me,” Ronaldo said. “It was a milestone I wanted to reach for a long time. I knew I would reach this number because if I kept playing it would happen naturally.”
Spain drew in their first game since winning the European Championship in Serbia, while San Marino won their first competitive match by beating Liechtenstein.
Ronaldo vs Modric
Ronaldo and Modric, former Real Madrid teammates, are nearing the end of their careers but are still enjoying success for their national teams. Modric turns 39 on Monday.
Ronaldo scored the 34th-minute goal to give Portugal a 2-1 lead at the Stadium of Light in Lisbon. He put his hands on his head and fell to his knees during the celebrations.
“It was emotional because it’s a milestone,” he said. “It seems like any other milestone, but only I and the people around me know how hard it is to work every day, to be physically and mentally fit to score 900 goals. It’s a unique milestone in my career.”
Portugal’s Diogo Dalot (centre) approaches Croatia’s Luka Modric after scoring the first goal during the UEFA Nations League soccer match between Portugal and Croatia at the Luz Stadium in Lisbon, Thursday, September 5, 2024. Photo credit: AP/Armando Franca
It was Ronaldo’s 131st international goal of his career.
He had previously put in a disappointing performance at the European Championships, failing to score a point in all five of Portugal’s matches before the team was eliminated on penalties by France in the quarter-finals.
Diogo Dalot had put Portugal ahead in the seventh minute of the game and made it 1-1 with an own goal in the 41st minute.
Lewandowski scores
Another veteran who left his mark on Thursday was 36-year-old Robert Lewandowski, who scored a penalty in Poland’s 3-2 win over Scotland. Poland’s winner came with another penalty – converted by Nicola Zalewski – in the seventh minute of stoppage time.
Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal celebrates after scoring his team’s second goal during the UEFA Nations League soccer match between Portugal and Croatia at Luz Stadium in Lisbon, Thursday, September 5, 2024. Photo credit: AP/Armando Franca
At the start of this week, Ronaldo, Modric and Lewandowski had together played 542 games for the national team and scored 239 goals.
Spain held
Spain could only manage a 0-0 draw in Serbia in their first match since winning the 2024 European Championship. La Roja have been the best team in Europe recently, winning the 2023 Nations League, the 2024 European Championship and the men’s gold medal at the Paris Olympics.
The youngsters Lamine Yamal and Nico Williams, the stars of the 2024 European Championship, were kept in check from the start.
Spain next has another away game against Switzerland in Geneva.
San Marino finally wins
San Marino beat Liechtenstein 1-0 to record its first competitive win thanks to a 53rd-minute goal from Nicko Sensoli.
They had already beaten Liechtenstein with the same result in 2004, but that time in a friendly match.
San Marino, a small country surrounded by Italy, ranks last in the FIFA world rankings, at 210th. Liechtenstein is not far ahead, at 199th.
The victory came in Group D1 of the competition.
More results
Denmark beat Switzerland 2-0 in Group A4. In League C, Sweden beat Azerbaijan 3-1 and Northern Ireland beat Luxembourg 2-0. Slovakia won 1-0 in Estonia and Belarus and Bulgaria drew 0-0.
The European qualifying groups for the 2026 World Cup will be drawn in Zurich in December. The seedings are expected to be based on the FIFA world rankings, which will be updated in November after the conclusion of the Nations League group stage.
