Victor Akhidenor
Cristiano Ronaldo’s 111 record-breaking international goals were scored with his left foot (25), right foot (59), and head (27). But none against a particular world-class ‘N’-lettered country.
The newly signed Manchester United forward scored those goals from direct free kicks (10), open play (87), and penalties (14). Yet again, none against a particular world-class ‘N’-lettered nation.
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Before we reveal this mysterious world-class ‘N’-lettered country, care to know about the rhythms of Ronaldo’s international goalscoring? Well, he is more dangerous after half-time but oddly goal-shy between the 11th and 20th minutes. However, he piles on the goals between the 76th minute and full time.
Here’s the breakdown:
1–10 minutes: 10 (3 penalties)
11–20 minutes: 3
21–30 minutes: 14 (3)
31–40 minutes: 10 (3)
41–half-time: 7
FIRST HALF: 44
46–55 minutes: 9
56–65 minutes: 15 (1)
66–75 minutes: 8 (1)
76–85 minutes: 19 (2)
86–full time: 14 (3)
SECOND HALF: 67
If you are read to this point it is obvious you see patience as a virtue. That gives us the liberty to task it further! Excluding ‘N’-lettered countries, here are the sides Ronaldo has scored international goals against.
Andorra: 6
Argentina: 1
Armenia: 5
Azerbaijan: 2
Belgium: 3
Bosnia and Herzegovina: 2
Cameroon: 2
Croatia: 1
Cyprus: 2
Czech Republic: 2
Denmark: 3
Ecuador: 1
Egypt: 2
Estonia: 4
Faroe Islands: 4
Finland: 1
France: 2
Germany: 1
Ghana: 1
Greece: 1
Hungary: 6
Iceland: 1
Iran: 1
Israel: 1
Kazakhstan: 2
Latvia: 5
Lithuania: 7
Luxembourg: 6
Morocco: 1
Panama: 1
Poland: 1
Republic of Ireland: 2
Russia: 3
Saudi Arabia: 2
Serbia: 1
Slovakia: 1
Spain: 3
Sweden: 7
Switzerland: 3
Ukraine: 1
Wales: 1
We have succeeded to dance around the circle and sustain your interest without revealing this mysterious ‘N’-lettered country. That’s a plus on our part, don’t you think? Sadly, we have ran out of ideas on how to prolong the puzzle and cannot go on with the game.
According to https://history.state.gov/countries/all countries under the letter N are:
Namibia
Nassau*
Nauru
Nepal
Netherlands, The
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
North German Confederation*
North German Union*
North Macedonia
Norway
NB: An asterisk indicates former countries, previously recognised by the United States, that have been dissolved or superseded by other states.
This definition makes our work easier, and we can separate the zero-class football nations from the world-class ‘N’-lettered countries the mercurial CR7 has scored against.
The list:
Netherlands: 4
New Zealand: 1
Northern Ireland: 3
North Korea: 1
Now, there is no prize for guessing the country…NIGERIA!
Before you burst my bubble and say that Ronaldo has never played against the Super Eagles of Nigeria and so cannot possibly score against the three-time Africa Cup of Nations champions, let us remind you that today is International Day of Coconut.
World Coconut Day is observed on September 2 every year to make people aware of the importance of this crop in poverty reduction. So, you may ask: what is the link between Ronaldo not scoring against Nigeria and Coconut/poverty reduction?
If you ask me, who will I ask? All hail King Ronaldo, undoubtedly one of the best players of his generation.
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