Five times Ballon d’Or winner, Christiani Ronaldo has been recognized by Guinness World Record as the footballer with the highest number of international appearances of 200 for a national team
Ronaldo inscribed his name in history as the player with the highest all-time international appearances of 200 in a match against Iceland where he scored the only goal in the game which concurrently is his 123rd international goal which stretched Portugal ahead in the UEFA EURO qualifying match.
In a EUFA Euro at Iceland’s National football stadium the Laugardalsvöllur, the Al Nassr star Christiano Ronaldo gave Portugal a nod ahead of Iceland in the dying embers of time after slashing the ball into the net following a header from Inacio in the 89th minute initially ruled out as an offside but a review by Video Assistant referees allowed the goal
This perpetuates Portugal’s lead on the Group J table ahead of Slovakia with 10, followed by Luxembourg with 7, Bosnia and Herzegovina with 3, Iceland with 3, and Lichtenstein with 0.
After the game, he expressed his joy over the record he had set and the fact that they won the game they deserved.
“This victory has another taste, not only because I scored the winning goal, but because it is my 200th match with the Portuguese national team. I am happy with this victory, with this goal, and with reaching 200 matches for my country.”
“I don’t think I could’ve asked for more today. We totally deserved to win and I was happy to score”He said.
Prior to the kick-off, he was awarded by a renowned record recognition organization, the Guinness World Record for his outstanding milestone in men’s football for making his 200th international appearance.
“For me, it is an extremely important milestone. It means a lot. [Two hundred] is a beautiful number that [no men’s player] has.”
“I’m very proud because this is something I never thought I could reach. And I’m continuing to set records. Two hundred games played prove the love I have for my country.” He stated.
In the Qatar 2022 World Cup, he equaled Kuwait forward Bader Al-Mutawa’s196 caps and was awarded the Guinness World Record certificate prior to the kick-off.
A day after the Qatat 2020 World Cup commenced, he earned another record by becoming the first human to reach 500 million followers on Instagram followed by Argentine Striker Lionel Messi with 387 million followers
In Portugal’s game against West African side Ghana, he scored a penalty which opened the scoring. He became the first player to score in five different World Cup tournaments and equaled the most appearances in the tournament with five.
Ronaldo made his debut for Portugal in 2003 in a match against Kazakhstan at 18 and scored his first goal in UEFA Euro 2004 after they lost 2-1 to Greece in the group stages. Since he has gotten consecutive call ups in the Portuguese national team for the past 20 years