The breaker of many soccer records, Cristiano Ronaldo, has broken yet another record today, as the five times Ballon d’Or winner scored a brace in an easy win over Lichtenstein in the Euro qualifiers earlier today.
Cristiano Ronaldo has scored a goal for Portugal every year since 2004.
That's TWENTY years in a row.
Incredible longevity 😳 pic.twitter.com/lkwezuZ3yK
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 23, 2023
Cristiano featured in the starting lineup in today’s fixture. The Portuguese were dominant in both halves of the match, having 83% of the ball. They took an early lead in the 8th minute after Joao Cancelo fired a volley following a rebound from a Portugal corner kick.
Throughout the remainder of the first half, Portugal had multiple attempts at the goal but were unable to find the back of the net.
Portugal found another goal 70 seconds into the second half, after Bernardo Silva fired home from inside the box with his stronger left foot. After that, it was CR7’s time to shine, as Portugal got a penalty awarded following a foul on Joao Cancelo inside the box. Cristiano calmly put the ball past the keeper from the spot.
Portugal then received a free kick just outside the 18-yard box following a foul on Palinha. Cristiano Ronaldo proceeded to score the best goal of the night, firing the ball on the top right corner from the spotkick.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s free kick from this angle…
— Mikael (@MikaelMadridsta) March 23, 2023
Cristiano Ronaldo now is the most internationally capped player
With today’s appearance, Cristiano Ronaldo is now officially the player with the highest number of international appearances. He has now featured for Portugal for a total of 187 times, overtaking the record of Kuwait’s Bader Al-Mutawa’s 196 international caps. He also has the most UEFA Champions League appearances (183).
BREAKING: Cristiano Ronaldo becomes the most capped footballer in international history with his 197th appearance for Portugal. Another incredible record by the 🐐 – congrats @Cristiano 👏👏👏👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/VyqY0t2Icz
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) March 23, 2023
The number of records Cristiano holds just don’t end here. He also additionally boasts the records for the most international goals (120), along with the most UCL goals(140) as well. He is also the first player in soccer history to reach the milestone of 800 professional goals.
To add to his list of records, CR7 is the only player to score in 3 different UCL finals.
The 5 times Champions League winner seemed to be very happy with his national team. He performed his iconic “SIUUU” celebration after both his goals, and the crowd joined him on both occasions as always.
As the 38-year old Portuguese superstar is nearing in the final hours of his decorated career, he has already established himself as arguably one of the greatest to grace the soccer pitch. Only time will tell when we will see another player break his numerous records. Until then, we all should enjoy what the Portuguese talisman still has to offer.
