Cristiano Ronaldo became the footballer with the most international caps following his appearance against Liechtenstein. The forward marked the occasion by scoring a brace, adding to his already record tally of goals for the national team.
The Portugal captain started off by scoring a penalty, and then proceeded to score an absolute rocket from a free-kick situation. With his brace, he has now scored for 20 straight years and is still going strong at 38.
Cristiano Ronaldo achieves new record in international football
The striker had tied the previous record holder, Al-Mutawa on 196 appearances when he came off the bench in Portugal’s defeat against Morocco at the 2022 World Cup. Ronaldo now has 197 international caps, and could extend the record if he plays in Portugal’s next Euro 2024 Qualifier against Luxembourg this international break.
The veteran became Europe’s most-capped player of all-time after he surpassed former Real Madrid teammate Sergio Ramos in 2021, who had 180 appearances for Spain.
In spite of being 38 years old, Cristiano Ronaldo is showing no signs of slowing down. And if Zlatan Ibrahimovic can still play for Sweden at 41, with the fitness levels that the Portugal captain maintains, he could be seen at the 2026 World Cup as well. But, given the way things are right now, it seems like a bit of a stretch.
However, with Ronaldo, you can never say never.
