Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 9th hattrick for Portugal as the reigning European champions edged closer to qualifying for the 2020 Euros with a 6-0 thumping of minnows Lithuania on Thursday night.
The Portuguese forward had been frustrated in recent weeks at Juventus with coach Maurizio Sarri twice taking him off for what he stated was a knee problem much to the disappointment of the five-time world player of the year.
At the international fold, however, it was business as usual as he scored his 9th hattrick to take his tally for the national team to 98 goals. Should be score two on Sunday against Luxembourg, he will become the second player in history to hit a century for the national team. Iran legend Ali Daei holds the world-record with 109 goals.
The 34-year old scored a treble while Pizzi, Goncalo Paciencia and Bernardo Silva also found the back of the net to ensure that Fernando Santos’ men picked an important win and should they beat minnows Luxembourg on Sunday, they will seal qualification to next year’s showpiece that 12 European countries.
Ronaldo had scored 55 career hattricks. He scored one for Manchester United, 44 for Real Madrid and 9 for his national team, he has one more hattrick than his nemesis, Lionel Messi.