While Neymar was crafting a small piece of international history in South Africa, Cristiano Ronaldo was making a more indelible mark on Portuguese soccer’s record book, with his early goal against visiting Cameroon leaving the Seleccao captain peerless atop his country’s all-time scoring list. Having entered the friendly tied with Pauleta on 47 international goals, Ronaldo’s 21st minute rocket into the lower-left hand corner broke a tie atop Portugal’s goal scoring chart, adding to the 29-year-old’s legacy as one of the premier talents his country has ever produced.
Play built down Portugal’s right flank saw a ball passed back toward the arc, where Ronaldo was cutting in from the left. After one touch to get around a defender, the Real Madrid star unloaded with a right-footed try toward the base of the far post. Sending his shot just inside the upright, Ronaldo broke his tie with Pauleta, the former Bordeaux and Paris Saint-Germain star. Also giving his team a 1-0 edge, Ronaldo recorded his 48th goal in his 110th career appearance.
An equalizer from Vincent Aboubakar sent Cameroon into halftime even with their hosts, but second half goals from Raul Meireles, Fabio Coentrao, and Edinho gave the Portuguese a 4-1 in Leiria, Portugal. In the 82rd minute, Ronaldo put another goal’s distance between himself and Pauleta, scoring his 49th career international goal to seal the 5-1 win.