March 29, (THEWILL) – Cristiano Ronaldo is set to make history once again when he breaks the men’s international appearance record with Portugal on Thursday.
The 38-year-old will be in the starting lineup for their Euro 2024 qualifier against Liechtenstein, earning his 197th cap for his country. This comes after being dropped from the Portuguese starting XI during the World Cup in Qatar.
Ronaldo has been a mainstay in the Portugal squad since his international debut in 2003. He made headlines last year as the first man to score in five World Cups, before Portugal’s loss to Morocco in the quarterfinals.
Currently playing for Saudi club, Al Nassr, Ronaldo will be hoping to further increase his record of 118 international goals as Portugal begin their qualification campaign for next year’s European Championship in Germany.
The former Manchester United player’s appearance off the bench in the defeat by Morocco equalled the previous mark of 196 caps held by Kuwait’s Bader Al-Mutawa. Ronaldo will be eager to solidify his status as one of the greatest footballers of all time, as he takes the field on Thursday for this historic moment in his career.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
