Cristiano Ronaldo breaks the record for men’s international appearances and scores twice for Portugal Cristiano Ronaldo broke the record for men’s international appearances on Thursday by scoring twice in Portugal’s 4-0 win over Liechtenstein in Euro 2024 qualifying.
The 38-year-old, who was left out of Portugal’s first team for the World Cup in Qatar last year, earned his 197th cap as a starter in Lisbon. After earlier goals from Joao Cancelo and Bernardo Silva, he scored a penalty in the 51st minute and a free kick 12 minutes later.
It was Ronaldo’s record-expanding 120th objective for his nation and made him the first man to score multiple times in quite a while. With a straightforward victory over Liechtenstein, Portugal got off to the right start in their qualification campaign.
📈 𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚 📈 𝗩𝗜𝗕𝗘𝗦 📈
Nada como entrar a vencer no Apuramento para o Europeu! 💪 #VesteABandeira #WearTheFlag pic.twitter.com/vtxHoqsaWk
— Portugal (@selecaoportugal) March 23, 2023
In the eighth minute, Cancelo scored the only goal of the first half, but the floodgates opened after the break. Before Ronaldo slammed a penalty into the bottom corner, Bernardo Silva doubled the lead less than two minutes into the second half.
To complete the scoring, a powerful free kick from the edge of the box sailed past goalkeeper Benjamin Buchel. Ramos was replaced late in the game by Ronaldo, delaying the much-anticipated roster change.
In their second Group J qualifier, Portugal will play Luxembourg on Sunday. Along with Slovakia, Iceland, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, they have also been included.
Source: www.ghbuzznews.com
