Qatar2022/ Cristiano Ronaldo Equals FIFA Record for Men's International Caps with 196th Appearance

Doha, December 11 (QNA) - Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo met a world record in terms of the number of participations in international matches, raising his tally to 196 matches, equal to the Kuwaiti footballer Bader Al Mutawa’s record. Ronaldo, a 5 times Golden Ball Winner, hit that record after playing as a substitute in the (51st) minute with the Portuguese squad against its Moroccan counterpart today, which the former lost, resulting in Portugal’s exist from the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 quarterfinals. Ronaldo, aged 37 years old, made his international debut in August 2003 at the age of 18. Through Ronaldo’s participation with his country’s national team in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, the Portuguese star became the only player to score in five different World Cup editions. He opened the scoring with a penalty kick against Ghana (3-2) in his first match. Ronaldo won with Portugal the UEFA Euro 2016 and the 2018-2019 UEFA Nations League titles. The Portuguese footballer holds the all-time international matches goal record standing at 118 goals. (QNA)