Cristiano Ronaldo spent this Thursday alone, topping the list of footballers with the most appearances ever, with 197 appearances, as he was Roberto Martinez’s original choice in Portugal’s clash with Liechtenstein en route to Euro 2024.
Having ceded the title to Benfica player Goncal Ramos at the final stage of the 2022 World Cup, Ronaldo regained it with the arrival of the Spanish coach, who replaced Fernando Santos, who in the meantime took the oath as Poland coach.
The 38-year-old Portuguese footballer makes his 197th AA cap in Alvalada and, according to official FIFA figures, leaves behind Bader Al Mutawa, who has been left out of the options for the Kuwait coach. Portuguese Rui Bento for the March clashes with the Philippines and Tajikistan.
Ronaldo was already alone at the top of the national team’s top scorer list with 118 goals, after surpassing numbers long considered “unreachable” by Iranian Ali Daei, further solidifying his status on the throne of the “gods”. ‘ football.
If he remains on Roberto Martinez’s pick list, Ronaldo has what it takes to become the first player to reach 200 games for the country and further solidify his top scorer status, even though the Argentine Lionel Messi, two and a half years younger and the Portuguese’s eternal rival, may pose a threat.
The Argentine captain, who recently celebrated victory at the World Cup, has played 172 matches for the South Americans (he is 13th in the world rankings) and scored 98 goals, which puts him in third place among scorers.
Ronaldo made his debut for the Portuguese national team on August 20, 2003, in a friendly match against Kazakhstan (1: 0), in Chaves, under the team of Brazilian Luis Felipe Scolari, and reached the mark of 100 games on October 16, 2012. , against Northern Ireland, in Porto, en route to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
The Portuguese football team will take on Liechtenstein at the José Alvalade Stadium in Lisbon in the first round of Group J qualification for the 2024 European Championship.
Lista dos cinco jogadores com mais internacionalizações:
1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) - 196 jogos
2. Bader Al-Mutawa (Kuwait) - 196
3. Ahmed Hassan (Egito) - 184
4. Ahmed Mubarak (Omã) - 183
5. Sérgio Ramos (Espanha) - 180
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.