Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 900th career goal to lead Portugal to a 2-1 win over Croatia in their first Nations League game on Thursday.

Ronaldo reached his milestone when he got on the end of a perfect cross from Nuno Mendes and the unmarked 39-year-old tapped in from close range to double the lead in the 34th minute.

Diogo Dalot's goal had put Portugal in front early on before Ronaldo netted at the Stadium of Light in Lisbon, with a Dalot own-goal reducing the deficit before the break.

"It means a lot," Ronaldo said after the match.

"It was a milestone I wanted to reach for a long time. I knew I would reach this number, because as I continue to play, it would happen naturally."

He put his hands to his head and dropped to his knees during the celebration.

"It was emotional because it's a milestone," he said. "It seems like any other milestone, but only I know, and the people around me, how hard it is to work every day, to be physically and psychologically fit, to score 900 goals," he added.

"It's a unique milestone in my career."

Ronaldo was coming off a disappointing performance at the European Championship, when he went scoreless in all five of Portugal's games before they were eliminated in a penalty shootout by France in the quarterfinals.

He has now netted 131 international goals, 450 for Real Madrid, 145 for Manchester United, 101 for Juventus, and 68 for his current club, Al-Nassr, as well as five for his first club, Sporting Lisbon.

Ronaldo is the first man to reach the 900-goal milestone in official matches for club and country.

Argentina's Lionel Messi, second in the all-time scorer's list, has bagged 859 career goals.

In Thursday's other League A Group 1 game, Poland beat Scotland 3-2. Portugal host Scotland and Croatia entertain Poland on Sunday.