By Victor Kanayo
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo on Tuesday night received a Guinness World Record plague, moments before reaching 200 international caps for his country.
Ronaldo, 38, currently an Al-Nassr player, reached the latest milestone in their Euro 2024 qualifier against Iceland, to break a record as the first footballer to attain such feat.
Interestingly, Ronaldo marked the day by scoring the winner in the 89th minute as Portugal beat Iceland 1-0.
The 38-year-old turned home Goncalo Inacio’s header with a poacher’s finish and celebrated wildly.
“Two hundred games played proves the love I have for my country.
“For me it is an extremely important milestone. It means a lot. [Two hundred] is a beautiful number that [no men’s player] has.
“I’m very proud because this is something I never thought I could reach. And I’m continuing to set records,” he said.
More Milestones
At the World Cup in Qatar last year, Ronaldo became the first male player to score in five World Cups, and holds the record for the most international hat-tricks with ten.
Ronaldo who made his debut for Selecao back in 2003 at the age of 18, is now all-time top goalscorer in international football with 123 goals in 200 games
