Picture Credit: Twitter
Portuguese legend and star player Cristiano Ronaldo, who is the all-time leading scorer and most-capped player in men’s international football, has his sights set on Euro 2024. Cristiano Ronaldo has reiterated his commitment to play for Portugal, saying that he will never give up on representing his country at the highest level. Ronaldo is set to make his record 200th appearance against Iceland in Euro 2024 Qualifiers on Tuesday night.
The Portuguese star set a new men’s international record when he made his 197th appearance against Liechtenstein in March 2023. The 38-year-old is still performing at the highest level for the national team and has scored four goals in three games since Roberto Martinez took over as Portugal's coach. Ronaldo made his international debut in 2003 and has won two major honours with Portugal as he led his country to success at Euro 2016 and the inaugural UEFA Nations League three years later.
“For me, it is an extremely important milestone," Ronaldo said ahead of his 200th game. "It means a lot. Being the 200th game, I will be the first in history to do so, I'm very proud of. This is something I never thought I could reach, but I have to keep going. I have much more to do.”
The 38-year-old continued and mentioned that he intends to continue playing for his country, “I'll stay here until I, the [Football Federation] President, and the coach believe I can. I'll never give up coming here, because it's always a dream. Representing the national team is the height of the career. I want to keep playing, make my family, friends, and Portuguese happy.”
The former Real Madrid striker mentioned that he hopes to do more and intends to follow the path to 2024 Euros. Martinez confirmed that the striker, who now plays for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, would start the game against Iceland. Portugal are already cruising towards a place at next year's Euro in Germany, sitting top of Group J after scoring 13 goals without reply in three straight wins.
