Ronaldo reaches 900 goals, San Marino achieve first win

The UEFA Nations League has returned in style with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring his 900th senior goal while San Marino achieved their first competitive win.

Ronaldo struck 34 minutes into Portugal's match with Croatia, giving his team a 2-0 lead. The 39-year-old was  emotional after reaching the milestone in Lisbon, converting Nuno Mendes's cross.

The strike, Ronaldo's first since June, extended his record haul of international goals to 131.

Diogo Dalot, who had scored Portugal's first, then conceded an own goal to give Croatia a way back into the game but Ronaldo's goal proved the difference in a 2-1 win.

In Serravalle, San Marino conceded first against Liechtenstein, themselves on a 40-match winless streak, but the goal was ruled out by the VAR (Video Assistant Referee).

Eight minutes into the second half Nicko Sensoli scored and San Marino, a small enclave in Italy, held on to win 1-0.

It was their first win since beating the same opposition in a friendly two decades and 140 matches ago, and only their second ever.

San Marino has a population of 33,000 and covers 61 sq km. Ranked 210th in the world they had lost 196 of their previous 205 matches.

Prior to this their main claim to fame was scoring after eight seconds in a World Cup qualifier against England in 1993, eventually losing 7-1. It is the second-fastest goal in World Cup qualification history.

Elsewhere Poland let slip a 2-0 lead away to Scotland, but clinched the points with a 97th-minute penalty to win 3-2, Spain were held to a goalless draw by Serbia and Denmark beat a Swiss team reduced to nine after Nico Elvedi and Granit Xhaka were sent off 2-0.

There were also wins for Northern Ireland, 2-0 against Luxembourg,  Sweden, 3-1 in Azerbaijan where Newcastle striker Alexander Isak scored twice, and Slovakia, 1-0 in Estonia.

Belarus and Bulgaria drew 0-0.

with agencies

License this article

What is AAPNews?

For the first time, Australian Associated Press is delivering news straight to the consumer.

No ads. No spin. News straight-up.

Not only do you get to enjoy high-quality news delivered straight to your desktop or device, you do so in the knowledge you are supporting media diversity in Australia.

AAP Is Australia’s only independent newswire service, free from political and commercial influence, producing fact-based public interest journalism across a range of topics including politics, courts, sport, finance and entertainment.

What is AAPNews?
The Morning Wire

Wake up to AAPNews’ morning news bulletin delivered straight to your inbox or mobile device, bringing you up to speed with all that has happened overnight at home and abroad, as well as setting you up what the day has in store.

AAPNews Morning Wire
AAPNews Breaking News
Breaking News

Be the first to know when major breaking news happens.


Notifications will be sent to your device whenever a big story breaks, ensuring you are never in the dark when the talking points happen.

Focused Content

Enjoy the best of AAP’s specialised Topics in Focus. AAP has reporters dedicated to bringing you hard news and feature content across a range of specialised topics including Environment, Agriculture, Future Economies, Arts and Refugee Issues.

AAPNews Focussed Content
Subscription Plans

Choose the plan that best fits your needs. AAPNews offers two basic subscriptions, all billed monthly.

Once you sign up, you will have seven days to test out the service before being billed.

AAPNews Full Access Plan
Full Access
AU$10
  • Enjoy all that AAPNews has to offer
  • Access to breaking news notifications and bulletins
  • Includes access to all AAPNews’ specialised topics
Join Now
AAPNews Student Access Plan
Student Access
AU$5
  • Gain access via a verified student email account
  • Enjoy all the benefits of the ‘Full Access’ plan at a reduced rate
  • Subscription renews each month
Join Now
AAPNews Annual Access Plan
Annual Access
AU$99
  • All the benefits of the 'Full Access' subscription at a discounted rate
  • Subscription automatically renews after 12 months
Join Now

AAPNews also offers enterprise deals for businesses so you can provide an AAPNews account for your team, organisation or customers. Click here to contact AAP to sign-up your business today.

SEVEN DAYS FREE
Download the app
Download AAPNews on the App StoreDownload AAPNews on the Google Play Store