Cristiano Ronaldo vows to become highest international goal scorer after netting his 99th Portugal goal

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 99th international goal for Portugal on Sunday night. His side beat Luxembourg 2-0. In the process, Portugal sealed its qualification for the European Championship 2020.

CR7 is now 10 goals away from Iran legend Ali Daei's tally of 109. This year has been Ronaldo's most prolific year for Portugal. The Juventus forward has scored 14 goals for his country in 2019.

In a post-match interview, Ronaldo said, "All records must be broken and I will beat that record. I wasn't 100% and I'm still not. In the last three weeks, I have played at a slightly reduced capacity. But when it comes to sacrificing myself for my club and my national team, I do it with pride."

Given his "reduced capacity," the Portuguese talisman's form doesn't seem to dip. He is now on the brink of becoming the second footballer in the history of the game to score 100 international goals.

It was Bernardo Silva's ball over the top that allowed Bruno Fernandes to give Portugal the lead during the 39th minute. And then in the 86th minute, Ronaldo scored the second goal of the match.

BBC says that the defending European champion, Portugal, had to beat Luxembourg to seal their place in next summer's tournament.

After yesterday's match, Fernando Santos' side finished second in Group B. They are now three points clear of Serbia after the latter drew 2-2 against Ukraine.

The 34-year old man from Madeira accumulated 99 international goals in just 164 matches. Meanwhile, he is Europe's top goal scorer. He is also the highest goal scorer in the world among the currently active footballers.

Ronaldo's on-field rival, Lionel Messi, has 69 goals in his account after appearing in 137 international matches for Argentina. India's Sunil Chhetri is the second-highest active scorer with 72 goals to his name in 114 games.

Ronaldo's first international goal came against Greece during a group match in the 2004 European Cup, which Portugal lost 1-2. A few weeks ago, CR7 completed his 700 career goals. It seems that the Portuguese legend is destined to break all on-field records. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner claimed in a recent interview that he is eyeing his sixth title this year.