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Cristiano Ronaldo made history on Thursday when he made his 197th appearance for Portugal’s national team in a Euro qualifier vs. Liechtenstein. CR7 passes Kuwait’s Bader Al-Mutawa to take the honor of most capped player in men’s international soccer history.
197 times in the colours of Portugal! @Cristiano Ronaldo breaks the men's international cap record pic.twitter.com/WDq3Qt6Nv5
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) March 23, 2023
HISTORY FOR CRISTIANO RONALDO
With his start today, he becomes the men's all-time leader in international caps with 197! pic.twitter.com/2JGqxIUjJc— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 23, 2023
⛰️ From the mountains of Madeira to the peak of the men's game.
What a journey to a record 197 caps for Cristiano Ronaldo pic.twitter.com/0wxKKdeamz— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) March 23, 2023
(USWNT legend Kristine Lilly has the all-time record with 354 caps.)
Portugal won the game 4-0 with Ronaldo bagging a brace. He scored from the penalty spot in the 51st minute but his best moment came off a free kick in the 63rd minute. With the ball about 20 yards out from goal CR7 made no mistake and fired a shot into the upper 90.
Ronaldo free kick goal vs. Liechtenstein
HE ABSOLUTELY SMASHED IT
A truly blistering strike from Ronaldo as he earns himself a brace in spectacular fashion! pic.twitter.com/aS9BhNvFdz— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) March 23, 2023
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored a goal for Portugal every year since 2004.
That's TWENTY years in a row.Incredible longevity pic.twitter.com/lkwezuZ3yK
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 23, 2023
Ronaldo also has the men’s record for the most international goals in history. This free kick was his 120th time scoring for Portugal.
People often poke fun at the fact that Ronaldo scores so many goals against lowly opponents such as Liechtenstein. (He has nine goals against the likes of Luxembourg, seven against Lithuania, six against Andorra… you get the idea.) But we can be fair here and say that no goalkeeper was stopping Thursday’s free kick.
Despite Portugal crashing out of the 2022 World Cup vs. Morocco and Ronaldo transferring to Al-Nassr, CR7 still has a role with the national team. Portugal’s Euro 2024 qualifying group consists of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovakia, Luxembourg, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
Barring disaster we should see Portugal playing in the Euro next year and potentially see Ronaldo at his last major tournament on the international stage.
