The 38-year-old Portuguese football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, the leading goal-scorer in international football history, now became the most capped player in men’s international football history during their opening game of the UEFA Euro 2024 Qualifiers.
In that Group J match, Portugal hosted Liechtenstein at Estádio José Alvalade (Lisbon). When Ronaldo led his national team in that game in front of more than 45000 people, he surpassed Kuwait footballer Bader Al-Mutawa in the list of most appearances in men’s international football history.
As both players are still active in international football, they will continue their battle to handle the record of most capped player in men’s international football history.
Ronaldo and Al-Mutawa both are now eyeing to create a new history in men’s international football by appearing in 200 matches for the first time.
List of most appearances in international football (men’s)
Player | Nation | Appearances |
Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 197 |
Bader Al-Mutawa | Kuwait | 196 |
Soh Chin Ann | Malaysia | 195 |
Ahmed Hassan | Egypt | 184 |
Ahmed Mubarak | Oman | 183 |
Sergio Ramos | Spain | 180 |
Andrés Guardado | Mexico | 179 |
Mohamed Al-Deayea | Saudi Arabia | 178 |
Claudio Suárez | Mexico | 177 |
Gianluigi Buffon | Italy | 176 |
Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal dominated
While the hosts Portugal thrashed Liechtenstein by 4-0, Ronaldo scored the last two goals for his team. João Cancelo opened the scoreline in eight minutes, and Bernardo Silva made the scoreline 2-0 in the second minute of the second half.
In the sixth minute of the second half, Ronaldo scored from a penalty. Around 12 minutes later, Ronaldo recorded his 120th international goal after incredibly converting a direct free-kick. It was also his 100th goal in competitive international matches. The history-maker became the first to record 100 competitive international goals.
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