After a three-month hiatus since the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, players are finally back in action for their countries. Portugal national team captain and the all-time leading goal scorer in men’s international football Cristiano Ronaldo was among the stars to represent their nation once again last night. The 38-year-old, who suffered a disappointing exit in the quadrennial major tournament after Portugal lost to Morocco in the quarterfinal, was back to captain Os Navegadores in Roberto Martinez’s first game in charge. On this record-setting 197th international appearance, the Funchal-born megastar scored a brace and helped his nation to comfortably edge past Liechtenstein in the first 2024 UEFA Euro Qualifier.
Ronaldo Set World Record 197th International Appearance
Prior to this qualifying match in Europe, Ronaldo was sharing the all-time men’s international football cap with Kuwait’s Bader Al-Mutawa at 196 appearances. The 49-year-old Martinez, who was in charging the Portugal national team for the first team since taking over the side earlier this year, made the decision to include the Al-Nassr captain in this game, allowing the latter to go ahead and break the record.
Welcoming their opponent to Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon, home of Ronaldo’s first senior football club Sporting CP, Os Navegadores wasted no time to open the score line in the eighth minute, when João Cancelo’s launched a strike outside the penalty box. The shot was deflected before going into the back of the net. The home team doubled its lead two minutes after the restart, thanks to Bernardo Silva. The Manchester City was readied to pounce when Cancelo cross was not properly cleared by the Liechtenstein backline.
It was Cristiano Ronaldo’s show from there on. The visitors had no answer for the speedy Cancelo, who was brought down by Jens Hofer in the penalty three minutes later. The 38-year-old forward Ronaldo stood up and hit home the spot kick at the bottom left corner, despite the goalkeeper guessing the right way. The Al-Nassr player then picked up where he left off last time around, scoring another freekick in as many matches for club and country. This stunning set-piece strike came just past the hour mark, when Ronaldo’s powerful effort hit the top right corner of the Liechtenstein goal. The shot stopper Benjamin Büchel had no chance saving the crazy shot.
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Ronaldo: “Proud to Be the Most-Capped International Player Ever.”
The 38-year-old former Sporting CP, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus man Ronaldo took to the Internet to celebrate his special moment in the match, via a post on his official Instagram account. His caption went “Such good feelings to play and score again for our national team, in a special stadium for me. Proud to be the [most-capped] international player ever”. CR7’s brace last night also increased his total tally for club and country to an unparalleled number of 830 goals.
His manager Roberto Martinez had full praise on his players, having gotten off a good start in his first game as the Portugal national team head coach. He said: “We have to enjoy situations like this. I realised that when you play for Portugal it’s special. The players follow that line, it was a step forward to prepare for the next game.”
On their way to a resounding victory in the qualifying match, Os Navegadores managed a whooping 35 shots throughout the 90 minutes plus added time, in which the Portugal gaffer was delighted about. This outstanding showing was reflected in a statistics of an expected goals (xG) of 3.9, as compared to Liechtenstein’s 0.03. The 49-year-old added, “Of course it’s an opportunity for me to get to know the players, the interaction, see how to take better advantage of the qualities. But I’m left with the attitude and willingness to work. I’m very proud of the result.”
Sensações tão boas por voltar a jogar e marcar pela nossa Seleção e num estádio especial para mim. Orgulhoso por ser o jogador mais internacional de sempre.🙌🏽🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/a6XcSEqLSE
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) March 23, 2023
200th International Appearance for Ronaldo Soon?
Cristiano Ronaldo and Roberto Martinez’s Portugal will face Luxembourg at Stade de Luxembourg next on Sunday for the second game of the 2024 UEFA Euro Qualifiers. The former will surely be aiming to extend his incredible international cap and goal scoring records in the near future, as the 200th appearance looms.
Ronaldo’s former club, Real Madrid, lost to Barcelona in the fourth El Clásico of the season, thanks to a Franck Kessié’s last minute winner. Read further for more details.
