Cristiano Ronaldo has set a new record for the most international football caps won by an individual (male) after playing his 196th match for Portugal.
Together with Bader Al-Mutawa of Kuwait, the Portuguese icon holds the record.
Ronaldo entered the field as a replacement in the 51st minute of Portugal’s World Cup quarterfinal game against Morocco, but he was unable to score as his nation fell 1-0 and was eliminated from the competition.
Since the start of the 2022 World Cup, Ronaldo has established three further Guinness World Records. He achieved a record 500 million Instagram followers on the day the World Cup began to become the most followed person in the world. With 387 million followers, Argentina’s Lionel Messi is the second most popular user on the platform.
Cristiano subsequently went on to score in Portugal’s opening match against Ghana, making him the first male player to score in five different World Cups.
With his five appearances in this tournament, Ronaldo also tied the record for the most male player appearances in FIFA World Cup competitions.
This year, Antonio Carbajal (Mexico), Lothar Matthäus (Germany), and Rafael Márquez all made their fifth World Cup appearances, joining Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Mexico’s Andrés Guardado on that list.
A little more than a year after breaking the record for the most goals scored in international football matches, Ronaldo’s ascent to the top spot in terms of international caps is yet another historic milestone in his record-breaking career.
He has now scored 118 goals for his nation, 23 more than Messi and 9 more than Iran’s Ali Daei, who is in second position.
At the age of 18, Ronaldo participated in his first senior match for Portugal in 2003, a 1-0 victory against Kazakhstan.
In a 2-1 loss to Greece in the group stage of the UEFA Euro 2004, he scored his first goal for his country.
After assisting Portugal in reaching the final, where they once again fell to Greece, Ronaldo went on to be nominated to UEFA’s Team of the Tournament.
In 2016, Portugal finally captured their first major prize in history: the UEFA Euro.
Cristiano Ronaldo has established numerous records in football over the years, some of which are:
- Most UEFA European Championships goals by a player – 14
- Most goals scored in the UEFA European Championships including qualifying matches – 45
- Most appearances in the UEFA European Championships by a player – 25
- Most UEFA European Championship tournaments scored in by a player – 5
Along with setting new World Cup records, Ronaldo also made history in 2018 by becoming the oldest player to tally three goals at the FIFA World Cup, helping his team to a 3-3 tie against Spain in a group-stage clash.
Ronaldo posted on his record-breaking Instagram account in 2021, following his ascent to the top spot in all-time international goals: “Thank you to the Guinness World Records. Always good to be recognized as a world record breaker. Let’s keep trying to set the numbers even higher!💪🏽”
Ronaldo has unquestionably kept his vow to aim for higher numbers since then. However, it is unclear whether he will retain the record for most caps for a country given that Bader Al-Mutawa is still a player and could participate in Kuwait’s forthcoming Gulf Cup games in 2023.
