The 24 international teams Cristiano Ronaldo has failed to score against for Portugal
Widely considered as the greatest goalscorer of all time, it’s safe to say that Cristiano Ronaldo is pretty good at finding the back of the net.
The Portuguese icon also holds the record for the most goals in men’s international football with a whopping 128 strikes for his country.
Unsurprisingly, he’s found the back of the net against the majority of the teams he’s faced on the international stage, although some nations have managed to keep CR7 quiet.
We’ve taken a closer look at Ronaldo’s international record and have found the 24 countries that he’s faced during his career and has failed to score against.
England
Alright, Ronaldo might have scored in two separate penalty shootouts against England, but he’s never scored an official goal against the Three Lions in regulation time.
Funnily enough, all three games that Ronaldo has played against England have ended level after 90 minutes.
Slovenia
Ronaldo faced Slovenia for the first time in his career earlier this year and lost the game 2-0. He played the full 90 minutes but struggled to put his stamp on the game.
South Korea
The only time Ronaldo has faced South Korea was in the 2022 World Cup and the less said about that tournament, the better.
He missed a big chance to give Portugal the lead in the first half and South Korea ended up winning it in the last minute, courtesy of a Hwang Hee-chan strike.
Uruguay
Ronaldo thought he’d scored against Uruguay at the 2022 World Cup, but that goal was promptly chalked off his record when replays showed he hadn’t actually got a touch on the ball.
Instead, Bruno Fernandes claimed the goal and the rest is history.
North Macedonia
During his career, Ronaldo has played a total of 163 minutes against North Macedonia, but he’s never bagged a goal against the European minnows.
He did provide an assist against them during a World Cup qualifier back in 2022, but he’s never been on the scoresheet himself.
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Turkey
In three games against Turkey, Ronaldo has never scored. To rub salt in the wounds, he missed a penalty against them in 2012 and ended up losing that game 3-1.
Algeria
He faced Algeria for the only time in his career back in 2018 during an international friendly. Portugal won 3-0 and Ronaldo did get an assist but failed to hit the back of the net himself.
Chile
Ronaldo’s record against European teams is exemplary, but the same can’t quite be said of his record against teams from South America.
To be fair, he’s only played Chile on one occasion at the 2017 Confederations Cup. Despite playing a total of 120 minutes, the game ended goalless and Portugal ended up losing 3-0 on penalties.
Mexico
Portugal faced Mexico at the 2017 Confederations Cup and the game ended as a 2-2 draw. Ronaldo himself played quite well but wasn’t on the scoresheet as Ricardo Quaresma and Cedric Soares scored the goals for Portugal.
Austria
He faced Austria at Euro 2016 and was presented the perfect opportunity to score, but ended up squandering his chance from the penalty spot.
Despite drawing the game 0-0, it all worked out in the end as Portugal ended up qualifying from their group anyway before going on to win the tournament.
Bulgaria
He faced Bulgaria for the one and only time in 2016 during an international friendly. Portugal lost the game 1-0 and Ronaldo missed a penalty. A day to forget for CR7, it’s fair to say.
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Albania
Surprisingly, Ronaldo has never scored against Albania despite facing them on four separate occasions. He’s also never provided an assist against them either.
USA
He faced the USA in the 2014 World Cup and despite providing an assist, he didn’t manage to find the back of the net during the 2-2 draw.
Since that game in 2014, he’s never played against them again.
Norway
Ronaldo’s only meeting with Norway came back in 2011 during a Euros qualifier. Portugal did end up winning the game, but Ronaldo didn’t get himself on the scoresheet.
Brazil
Undoubtedly, the biggest nation that Ronaldo has never scored against. He’s faced Brazil on three separate occasions but has never managed to find the back of the net against them.
To be fair to Ronaldo, he’s not had the chance to play them since the 2010 World Cup and his chances of playing them again seem fairly slim.
Ivory Coast
Ronaldo faced Ivory Coast for the one and only time during the 2010 World Cup. He almost scored an absolute worldie, but his ferocious shot from outside the box cannoned off the post and the game ended as a goalless draw.
Mozambique
Ronaldo faced Mozambique during an international friendly back in 2010. In fairness, he only played 27 minutes of the match after coming on as a second-half substitute.
Cape Verde
CR7 has faced Cape Verde on two occasions in international friendlies but failed to score in either of them.
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China
He played 45 minutes against China back in 2010 during a friendly. Ronaldo did get an assist to be fair, but didn’t manage to hit the back of the net.
South Africa
March 2009 is the only time that Ronaldo has faced South Africa. He played 33 minutes of an international friendly against them and didn’t score or assist during that time.
Georgia
Portugal beat Georgia 2-0 during an international friendly back in 2008. Ronaldo only featured in the first half and he’s not had the chance to play against them since.
Italy
It seems a bit mental that Ronaldo has never played against Italy in a competitive fixture. He’s faced them on two occasions in his career, both in international friendlies.
Not only has he never scored against them, but he’s never been on the winning side against Italy either as both matches ended in a loss for Portugal.
Angola
Ronaldo made his World Cup debut against Angola all the way back in 2006. He certainly made an impression during the game and came agonisingly close to scoring when he hit the crossbar.
However, he was withdrawn after 60 minutes and hasn’t played Angola since.
Canada
The only time he’s ever faced Canada was back in 2005 during an international friendly. Portugal ended up winning the game 4-1, but Ronaldo didn’t manage to get himself on the scoresheet.