Lisbon (AFP)

In search of the 110th goal: determined to make more and more football history, Cristiano Ronaldo has the opportunity to beat Wednesday night against Ireland the record for national goals he co-holds with Iranian Ali Daei and to bring Portugal closer to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The Portuguese superstar left Juventus Turin on Friday to return to Manchester United where she began to write her legend between 2003 and 2009. She is about to add another feat to her career.

With 109 achievements on the clock in 179 caps, "CR7" must score once to overtake Ali Daei and settle alone on the throne of king of scorers in the national team.

At 36, Cristiano Ronaldo has already accumulated the best scorer records in the history of the Champions League (134), Real Madrid (450), the Euro since this summer (14) and European selections, having surpassed Hungarian Ferenc Puskas (84) during the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

- "Ronaldo deserves this record" -

Ali Daei himself has no illusions about the survival of his record that many thought was inaccessible.

The "Chahriar" (the king in Persian), now 52 years old and retired since 2007, also paid tribute to the Portuguese captain when the latter equaled his 109 achievements by signing a double against France (2 -2) during Euro-2020.

Iranian Ali Daei (L) during a match against Iraq at the Azadi stadium in Tehran, June 23, 2004, and Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo (R) against Hungary during Euro-2020, at Puskas Arena in Budapest June 15, 2021 Behrouz MEHRI, Alex Pantling AFP / Archives

"Congratulations to Cristiano Ronaldo who is now one goal away from breaking the international goalscoring record (...) I am honored that this remarkable feat will soon belong to Ronaldo," the former Bayern Munich player wrote on his Instagram account, he who considers that Ronaldo is "one of the three" great footballers in history with Argentines Leo Messi and Diego Maradona.

"I think Ronaldo deserves this record. The fact that he can join me is also a record for me," he told Spanish sports daily As a few days after the meeting.

If it were to fail against Ireland, the five-time Portuguese Golden Ball could be caught up against Qatar on Saturday in a friendly or by facing Azerbaijan on September 7 in the qualifiers.

- Last World Cup -

And if he plays at least two of these three meetings, the Portuguese who started his international career in August 2003 will exceed the 180 selections of the Spaniard Sergio Ramos, not summoned with the "Roja", and will become the most capped player European selections.

After three qualifying days, Portugal lead Group A with 7 points, the same total as Serbia, but coach Fernando Santos' men have a better goal difference.

A cardboard portrait of Cristiano Ronaldo is held up by fans of Manchester United, the club he will return to, during the Premier League match against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux Stadium on August 29, 2021 Oli SCARFF AFP

Pulsed during the victory against Azerbaijan (1-0), the draw in Serbia (2-2) and the success in Luxembourg (3-1), the 2016 European champions must raise their level of play. they want to put air in front of their hen.

There is no doubt that Cristiano Ronaldo, scorer against Luxembourg, will want to help his country qualify for the World Cup in Qatar, in the fall of 2022 (November 21-December 18), which should, by his own admission, be his last.

He would then, soon to be 38, have the opportunity to enter the very closed circle of players who have played five World Cups, such as the Italian Gianluigi Buffon and the German Lothar Matthäus.

Above all, he will have a final opportunity to win this competition, the only major trophy missing from his impressive record.

© 2021 AFP