Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, at 38, may on Tuesday become the first player in the history of soccer to reach 200 international caps for his national team, in the duel with Iceland, in the qualifying stage for Euro2024.
After two decades as an absolute starter for the national team, and for the most part wearing the captain’s armband, Ronaldo should reach two hundred games for Portugal in Reykjavik, setting another record in a career that leaves the striker as one of the best ever in the history of soccer.
After becoming the most international player ever in March, surpassing Kuwaiti Bader Al-Mutawa, Ronaldo should now become the first player in history to reach 200 games, adding that achievement to the 122 goals he has for his country, which have taken him past Iranian Ali Daei’s 109, a record that for many years was held as unbeatable.
It all started on August 20, 2003, in a match against Kazakhstan (1-0), in Chaves, under the command of Brazilian Luiz Felipe Scolari, with Ronaldo, only 18 years old, being launched at the beginning of the second half.
The 100-match mark came on October 16, 2012, nine years later, against Northern Ireland, in Porto, on the way to the World Cup2014, in Brazil, in a draw (1-1), with Ronaldo going blank, after having played full time at the Dragão.
Having already surpassed Luís Figo (127) as the most international ever for Portugal, the striker reached 150 games in a private match with Algeria on June 7, 2018, at Estádio da Luz, in Lisbon, which served as preparation for the World Cup, held that year in Russia.
Ronaldo ‘lands’ in Reykjavik with 199 games for the Portuguese national team and 122 goals.
The Iceland-Portugal match, from the fourth round of Group J qualifying for Euro2024, is scheduled for 19:45 (18:45 local time) and will be refereed by German Daniel Siebert.
The team of the ‘quinas’ leads the group with nine points, followed by Slovakia, which has seven, and Luxembourg, third, with four. Bosnia and Iceland follow with three, in fourth and fifth place respectively, while Liechtenstein is last with zero.
Only the top two finishers in the grouping qualify for the final stage of Euro2024, which will be held in Germany.
