The 38-year-old striker, who has been playing for the Al Nassr of the Saudi league, was the starter in this match of the fourth day of the qualifiers for the Eurocup that will be played in Germany in a year.
The five-time winner of the Ballon d’Or already broke the record for caps in men’s soccer last March, reaching his 197th match against Liechtenstein, surpassing the mark of the Kuwaiti Bader Al-Mutawa.
On Monday, in the press conference prior to the match in Reykjavík, ‘CR7’ made it clear that he does not intend to give up playing with the Seleçao despite his age.
“I will never give up coming here (to the national team), because it is always a dream. Reaching 200 caps is not something that anyone can achieve, this shows the love I have for my country and for my team,” said the Madeira native. .
“It would be spectacular to cap my 200th national team with a goal,” added the Madeiran native, who also holds the record for national team soccer goals with 122.
Since Martínez’s arrival on the bench to replace Fernando Santos after the World Cup in Qatar in December, Ronaldo has played the first three qualifying games for the Eurocup, signing two trebles in the victories against Liechtenstein (4-0) and Luxembourg (6 -0).
The former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus star also played the entire game last Saturday against Bosnia, but did not score in Portugal’s 3-0 win.
Ronaldo made his Portugal debut on August 20, 2003, at 18 years, 6 months and 15 days, when he came into play in a friendly match against Kazakhstan, at the time when the Brazilian team was led by Brazilian Luiz Felipe Scolari.
About to celebrate 20 years of international career, Ronaldo has faced 70 different countries and has participated in all major international competitions since Euro 2024that is, five European Championships and four World Cups.
In his role as Portugal’s captain and offensive leader, he helped win the only two titles for the Portuguese team so far: Euro 2016 and League of Nations 2019.