The top appearance makers in international football

With Cristiano Ronaldo reaching the historic mark of 200 caps for Portugal against Iceland, we take a look at where he stands in the all-time list of male international appearance makers.

As we can see, Cristiano Ronaldo is the first male footballer to reach 200 caps for his country, with no other player having managed more appearances in national colours. Kuwait's Bader Al-Mutawa - who last pulled on his national jersey in June 2022 - isn't far behind though, with 196 caps, while long-time rival Lionel Messi finds himself tied in 11th place having represented reigning world champions Argentina on 175 occasions.

Ronaldo's debut for Portugal came on 20th August 2003, when the then 18-year-old came on as a second-half substitute for Portugal legend Luis Figo in a friendly against Kazakhstan. His first international goal, meanwhile, came during EURO 2004 against Greece in the group stage. Greece would go on to break Portuguese hearts in the final of that tournament, and Ronaldo had to wait a further 12 years to taste international glory when he led his nation to the EURO 2016 title. UEFA Nations League glory followed in 2019, and Ronaldo has since propelled himself to the top of the international goalscoring charts with an astonishing 122 goals. For the statistical boffins out there, here's a breakdown of all his goals for Portugal.