Against Liechtenstein on Thursday, Cristiano Ronaldo made his 197th appearance for Portugal in a Euro 2024 qualifying match, shattering the record for the most men’s international caps ever.
The record was previously held by Bader Al-Mutawa, who played 196 times for Kuwait internationally. During the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022, Ronaldo tied the mark. On Thursday, he broke it.
Although the 38-year-old striker hasn’t played for Kuwait since June 2022, there is still time for Al-Mutawa to break his own record, as he did the previous summer. Ronaldo has the opportunity to close the gap with Al-Mutawa when Portugal plays Luxembourg on Sunday.
Ronaldo not only owns the record for the most men’s international caps ever, but he also has the most goals scored in senior international competition (118) and the most goal-scoring seasons in a row (22). Ronaldo holds the record with 830 goals scored for club and country overall. Currently, Ronaldo is a player for Al-Nassr, a Saudi Arabian club.