Cristiano Ronaldo stooped to conquer in Lisbon, heading the goal that gave Portugal a slender advantage going into the second leg of their FIFA World Cup™ qualifying play-off against Sweden. Fellow star-attraction Zlatan Ibrahimovic was reasonably subdued throughout the evening, but the giant Paris Saint-Germain forward has the chance to display his remarkable talents in Solna in the second leg on Tuesday. We compare the two talismanic players’ incredible statistics ahead of that crucial game.

Height
Ibrahimovic: 1.95 metres
Ronaldo: 1.86 metres
The Swede is an imposing figure on a football pitch, standing head and shoulders above most defenders. His technique does not suffer though with Co Adriaanse, his then-coach at Ajax remarking in 2001: “He really has good technique. You don’t see that very often with tall players. Probably because of the bigger distance between the brains and the feet.” Ronaldo is not short by any means, but it is his physique that makes him stand out, with Jose Mourinho once saying he has “the body of an animal.”

International goals
Ibrahimovic 46 in 95 appearances (0.48 goals per game)
Ronaldo 44 in 108 appearances (0.4 goals per game)
After Friday’s play-off, both players are now three goals behind their country’s record goalscorer. Ronaldo is closing in on Pauleta’s record, while Ibrahimovic will be hoping to catch up to Sven Rydell in Solna on Tuesday. They both opened their international account in 2004. Ibrahimovic scored the only goal in a friendly against England in March of that year, while Ronaldo grabbed a late consolation at UEFA EURO 2004 against eventual winners Greece in a 2-1 defeat for the hosts.

Domestic (top five leagues) and UEFA Champions League goals since 2004/05
Ibrahimovic 208 goals
Ronaldo 304 goals
Since the 2004/05 season, Ronaldo and Ibrahimovic have played in one of the top five ranked European leagues (England, Germany, France, Spain or Italy), along with the Champions League. In that time, Ronaldo has scored more than anybody in league and Champions League matches, while Ibrahimovic is third in that list behind Lionel Messi. In three of the four seasons since his move to the Santiago Bernabeu, Ronaldo’s goalscoring rate has been a goal per game or better, while Ibrahimovic picked up the Ligue 1 golden boot award in his first season in France in 2012/13.

World Cup finals goals
Ibrahimovic: 0 in 5 appearances
Ronaldo: 2 in 10 appearances
The Swede has yet to score at a World Cup, having appeared at both the 2002 and 2006 tournaments. It has to be remembered that Ibrahimovic played only half of the group matches across both tournaments, as a raw 20-year-old reserve in Korea/Japan and struggling with a groin problem in Germany. Ronaldo’s World Cup goals have both come in the group stages. He grabbed the...http://sportshubng.com/ronaldo-vs-ibrahimovic-numbers-dont-lie/

CR7. 2013 ballon d'or winner