Cristiano Ronaldo broke the record for most international appearances with his cap against Liechtenstein.
With his 197th mission, he overtook the previous record holder Bader Al-Mutawa. This played his last international match for Kuwait on June 14, 2022.
The Portuguese’s national team career began 20 years ago with a 1-0 win against Kazakhstan in a friendly. This was followed by five world championships and five European championships with the triumph in 2016.
In the final of the European Championship, Portugal beat France 1-0 after extra time and celebrated their first title in the association’s history. Cristiano himself had to be substituted early because of an injury in tears.
“Without a doubt the most important title of my career,” he wrote on Twitter after the final.
Despite his departure to Saudi Arabia for Al Nassr FC, Ronaldo planned to continue his career with the national team. Ronaldo netted in the 51st and 63rd minutes of the 4-0 win against outsiders Liechtenstein. Joao Cancelo (8th) and Bernado Silva (47th) had previously scored.
One or the other hit is likely to follow. The five-time world footballer wants to remain part of the team at least until the 2024 European Championship in Germany.
The new Portuguese coach Roberto Martínez seems to want to give him the chance: “We will give all players a chance and respect those who are already in the national team. Cristiano is one of them,” said Martínez.
At the weekend, Portugal meet Luxembourg in qualifiers for the European Championship.
