Cristiano Ronaldo becomes most capped player in international football

Cristiano Ronaldo broke the men’s international appearance record on Thursday after he was named in Portugal’s starting line-up for their Euro 2024 qualifier against Liechtenstein.

FILE PHOTO: Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo during the 2022 World Cup. | Photo Credit: Pedro Nunes/REUTERS

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