When Cristiano Ronaldo steps on the football field, he is always closing in on some kind of record. Recently, the Portuguese became the all-time leading goalscorer in international football as he went past Ali Daei’s long-standing record of 109 goals.
On Saturday, Ronaldo broke another record as he became the most-capped European in men’s international football history overtaking his former Real Madrid teammate Sergio Ramos.
The Manchester United forward started and scored for Portugal in their 3-0 win over Qatar marking his record-breaking 181st appearance for Portugal in style.
Most capped internationals in Europe
| Rank | Player | Country | Appearances | Years Active |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 181 | 2003-Present |
| 2 | Sergio Ramos | Spain | 180 | 2005-Present |
| 3 | Gianluigi Buffon | Italy | 176 | 1997-2018 |
| 4 | Vitaljis Astafjevs | Latvia | 167 | 1992-2010 |
| 5 | Iker Casillas | Spain | 167 | 2000-2016 |
| 6 | Martin Reim | Estonia | 157 | 1992-2009 |
| 7 | Lothar Mathaus | Germany, West Germany | 150 | 1980-200 |
| 8 | Anders Svensson | Sweden | 148 | 1999-2013 |
| 9 | Robbie Keane | Republic or Ireland | 146 | 1998-2016 |
| 10 | Antoliy Tyomushchuk | Ukraine | 144 | 2000-2016 |
Ronaldo is fifth in the all-time list and is the second in the list of active players.
Most capped internationals (all-time)
| Rank | Player | Country | Caps | Years Active |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Soh Chin Ann | Malaysia | 219 | 1969-1984 |
| 2 | Bader Al-Mutawa | Kuwait | 186 | 2003-present |
| 3 | Ahmed Hassan | Egypt | 184 | 1995-2012 |
| 4 | Ahmed Mubarak | Oman | 182 | 2003-2019 |
| 5 | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 181 | 2003-Present |
| 6 | Sergio Ramos | Spain | 180 | 2005-Present |
| 7 | Mohamed Al-Deayea | Saudi Arabia | 178 | 1993-2006 |
| 7 | Claudio Suarez | Mexico | 178 | 1992-2006 |
| 9 | Gianluigi Buffon | Italy | 176 | 1997-2018 |
| 9 | Hossam Hassan | Egypt | 176 | 1985-2006 |
| 9 | Amer Shafi | Jordan | 176 | 2002-2021 |
The goal against Qatar gave Ronaldo another milestone. He has now scored against 46 countries, more than any other player in the world.
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