Portugal legend Cristiano Ronaldo shattered yet another record and topped the list of players with the most international appearances with 197 caps.
The 38-year-old—playing his first match in national colours after the heartbreaking quarterfinal exit at Qatar World Cup— achieved this feat in the Euro 2024 qualifying match against Liechtenstein Estadio Jose Alvalade stadium on Friday.
Ronaldo, who now plays for Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr, has 120 international goals under his belt, including the brace against Liechtenstein. Portugal went on to win 4-0 as Bernardo Silva and Joao Cancelo also found the back of the net.
The former Real Madrid stalwart currently occupies the No.1 spot among the top goalscorers in men’s international football. Iranian legend Ali Daei is second with 109 goals, closely followed by Argentina’s Lionel Messi.
Last year, Ronaldo became the first player to score in five World Cup editions after scoring against Ghana in Portugal’s campaign opener.
Portugal was drawn alongside Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Slovakia in Group J of Euro qualifiers. Roberto Martinez’ men will next travel to Luxembourg on March 27.
Top 10 players with most international caps:
| Rank | Player | Country | International appearances |
| 1. | Cristiano Ronaldo* | Portugal | 197 |
| 2. | Baer Al-Mutawa* | Kuwait | 196 |
| 3. | Soh Chin Ann | Malaysia | 195 |
| 4. | Ahmed Hassan | Egypt | 184 |
| 5. | Ahmed Mubarak | Oman | 183 |
| 6. | Sergio Ramos | Spain | 180 |
| 7. | Andres Guardado* | Mexico | 179 |
| 8. | Mohamed Al-Deayea | Saudi Arabia | 178 |
| 9. | Claudio Sanchez | Mexico | 177 |
| 10. | Gianluigi Buffon | Italy | 176 |
*active players
