By Samuel A. June 21, 2023
Cristiano Ronaldo has always relished a sense of occasion and struck in typical fashion, bagging a winner on the same night he was honoured with a plaque from Guinness World Records for his record breaking 200th international appearance.
The Portuguese international received a Guinness World Records certificate for having the most international caps for a male player. The closest to Ronaldo’s tally is Bader Al-Mutawa, who was capped by Kuwait on 196 occasions. Cristiano Ronaldo equally marked the occasion by scoring a last gasp winner against Iceland on the night he became the first men’s player in history to reach 200 international appearances. Ronaldo’s goal, a record-extending 123rd in international football, maintained Portugal’s perfect start to Euro 2024 qualifying with four wins from four matches, and also extended his lead as the top goalscorer on international level.
“So happy,” Ronaldo said after the match. “It’s the kind of moment you never expect, to reach 200 caps. For me it’s an unbelievable achievement. To be in the Guinness World Records is amazing and to score the winning goal is even more special. So I have to say thank you to the stadium, to Iceland, the people, the fans, the stadium for having this kind of party for me. Also to the Portugal national team, the federation. I’m so happy. It’s a special day, I have to say thank you to all of them. They made my day. They made my night.”
Iceland’s Willum Willumsson was sent off after being shown his second yellow card with 10 minutes remaining, opening the door for a Portugal winner. Ronaldo was made to wait to celebrate his goal after teammate Gonçalo Inácio, who provided the assist, was initially ruled to be offside, only for VAR to overturn the decision.
The Portugal captain has now scored five goals in Euro qualifying and is still playing a key role for the national team, despite a disappointing end to the World Cup in which Ronaldo was dropped to the bench in the knockout stages.
At the World Cup in Qatar last year, Ronaldo became the first male player to score in five World Cups. He also holds the record for the most international hat-tricks with ten.
