Cristiano Ronaldo makes international history with record 197th cap for Portugal in Euro 2024 qualifying match

Updated 23/03/2023 at 22:46 GMT

Cristiano Ronaldo was selected for Portugal’s first Euro 2024 qualifying match against Liechtenstein to become the most capped men’s international player ever. It’s Ronaldo’s latest achievement, having already scored the most goals ever and is the only male player to have found the back of the net more than 100 times for his country.

Ronaldo - I'm back for new world record

Cristiano Ronaldo has made history by breaking the record for the most international caps by a men’s player with his 197th appearance for Portugal.

Ronaldo was included in the starting XI for Portugal’s opening Euro 2024 qualifying match against Liechtenstein on Thursday, surpassing Kuwait forward Bader Al-Mutawa.

He marked the landmark achievement by scoring twice with a penalty and free kick in the second half as Portugal thrashed Liechtenstein 4-0.

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The former Manchester United star, and now Al Nassr captain, has scored the most goals in men’s international football with 120 goals.

He became the first male player to score at five different World Cups when he netted for Portugal against Ghana during the group stage of the 2022 tournament.

There was doubt over his international future after he was left out of the starting line-ups by previous Portugal manager Fernando Santos for the last-16 and quarter-final matches in Qatar.

However, he was recalled to the squad for the European Championship qualifiers by newly-appointed boss Roberto Martinez.

Most international caps for male footballers

Player	Country	Caps
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

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