Portugal national soccer team captain Cristiano Ronaldo (Alnasr) is set to become the first male soccer player in history to play 200 A-matches, a milestone he says is “very important.”
“Playing 200 A-matches means a lot,” Ronaldo told ESPN on Tuesday. Not only is it a first in the history of men’s soccer, but I’m proud to have reached a milestone that even I didn’t think I could reach.”
Portugal (W3 D9 L9) will face Iceland (W1 D2 L3) in their Euro 2024 qualifying Group J fourth match on Monday morning (June 21).
Ronaldo, who made his A-match debut in a friendly against Kazakhstan in August 2003, has been playing in a Portugal shirt for nearly two decades and currently holds the record for most A-match appearances by a male player in history (199 games – 122 goals).
Ronaldo will become the first player in history to reach 200 caps against Iceland, and his 122 goals are also the most by a male player in A-Match history.
Behind Ronaldo in second place on the all-time men’s A-match list is Kuwait’s Bader Al-Mutawa (Alkhazia) with 196 appearances.
Ronaldo surpassed Al Mutawa’s record for most A-match appearances by a male player in a Euro 2024 qualifying Group J match against Liechtenstein in March and is now on track to reach the ‘first 200’ milestone.
Ronaldo’s “lifelong rival” Lionel Messi has 175 caps (103 goals) in an Argentina shirt.
“Tomorrow I will have a beautiful number that no one has ever had,” Ronaldo said, adding, “I don’t follow records. The records follow me. I’m happy and this is what motivates me to always play at my best for the national team,” he said.
“I don’t know if there are any more records left to break,” he laughed, before adding, “What I want most now is to win Euro 2024.”메이저놀이터
“I have the ambition to break more records, especially for my country, Portugal,” Ronaldo said, emphasizing that “if my teammates like my presence and leadership, I will never give up on the national team.”
Meanwhile, the all-time record for most A-match appearances by a female player is 354, set by Christine Lilly (USA-retired) in November 2010.