It’s an unbelievable achievement – Cristiano Ronaldo after becoming first man to play 200 International matches

Portugal’s talisman Cristiano Ronaldo was delighted and felt it is an unbelievable achievement after becoming the first male footballer to play the 200th International match for the national team at Reykjavik’s Laugardalsvollur stadium. Ronaldo made the historic moment even more special as he scored in a 1-0 win in the European Championship qualifier against Iceland on Tuesday.

Ronaldo found the back of the net in the 89th minute of the game to help his team stay atop in Group J. Portugal has won all of their four matches so far in the Euro qualifiers 2023-24.

Meanwhile, Ronaldo made his Portugal debut back in 2003 and he has been performing consistently since then in the last two decades. Tuesday’s night goal was the 123rd for Ronaldo for the national team, extending his record as the all-time leading international goalscorer.

“I’m so happy. To reach 200 caps is the kind of moment that you never expect. It’s an unbelievable achievement. And of course to score the winning goal makes it even more special”, Ronaldo said after the game.

Before playing his 200th match for Portugal, Ronaldo added that it is his passion and love for the sport which has helped him play these many matches.

Prior to Tuesday’s game, Ronaldo said: “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.”

Ronaldo won the Euro 2016 with Portugal and also UEFA Nations League in 2019. Portugal will next lock horns with Slovakia on 8th September and then will later take on Luxembourg.