Top 10 Player with Most International Caps: Cristiano Ronaldo made his 200th appearance for Portugal against Iceland on Tuesday, and he celebrated the occasion with an 89th-minute winning goal.
Prior to that, Ronaldo had already set a new world record by earning his 197th cap for Portugal in a match against Liechtenstein on 23rd March. During that game, he scored two goals.
He then reached 199 appearances for his country in the UEFA EURO 2024 qualifying match against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Saturday. Finally, he achieved the remarkable milestone of 200 appearances for Portugal in the match against Iceland on 20th June.
Cristiano Ronaldo surpassed the European record of 180 international appearances, previously held by Spain’s Sergio Ramos, back in 2021. Furthermore, Ronaldo’s participation in the 2022 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals against Morocco helped him reach a total of 196 appearances, equaling the previous world record set by Bader Al-Mutawa from Kuwait. Now, at 38 years old, Ronaldo is extending his lead and surging ahead of the previous records.
Top 10 Player with Most International Caps
| Footballer | Team, period | Caps | Goals | First match | Last match |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | 2003 – 2023 | 200 | 123 | 20-Aug-03 | 20-Jun-23 |
| Sergio Ramos | 2005 – 2021 | 180 | 23 | 26-Mar-05 | 31-Mar-21 |
| Gianluigi Buffon | 1997 – 2018 | 176 | 29-Oct-97 | 23-Mar-18 | |
| Vitālijs Astafjevs | 1992 – 2010 | 167 | 16 | 26-Aug-92 | 17-Nov-10 |
| Iker Casillas | 2000 – 2016 | 167 | 3-Jun-00 | 1-Jun-16 | |
| Luka Modrić | 2006 – 2023 | 166 | 24 | 1-Mar-06 | 18-Jun-23 |
| Martin Reim | 1992 – 2009 | 157 | 14 | 3-Jun-92 | 6-Jun-09 |
| Konstantin Vassiljev | 2006 – 2023 | 151 | 26 | 31-May-06 | 17-Jun-23 |
| Lothar Matthäus | 1980 – 2000 | 150 | 23 | 14-Jun-80 | 20-Jun-00 |
| Anders Svensson | 1999 – 2013 | 148 | 21 | 27-Nov-99 | 19-Nov-13 |
| Jan Vertonghen | 2007 – 2023 | 148 | 9 | 2-Jun-07 | 20-Jun-23 |
| Robbie Keane | 1998 – 2016 | 146 | 68 | 25-Mar-98 | 31-Aug-16 |
| João Moutinho | 2005 – 2022 | 146 | 7 | 17-Aug-05 | 9-Jun-22 |
| Hugo Lloris | 2008 – 2022 | 145 | 19-Nov-08 | 18-Dec-22 | |
| Anatoliy Tymoshchuk | 2000 – 2016 | 144 | 4 | 26-Apr-00 | 21-Jun-16 |
| Michael Mifsud | 2000 – 2020 | 143 | 42 | 10-Feb-00 | 11-Nov-20 |
| Marko Kristal | 1992 – 2005 | 143 | 9 | 3-Jun-92 | 20-Apr-05 |
| Sergio Busquets | 2009 – 2022 | 143 | 2 | 1-Apr-09 | 6-Dec-22 |
| Thomas Ravelli | 1981 – 1997 | 143 | 1-Mar-81 | 11-Oct-97 | |
| Robert Lewandowski | 2008 – 2023 | 142 | 79 | 10-Sep-08 | 20-Jun-23 |
The first footballer to have appeared in 100 international matches was Billy Wright from England. He achieved his 100th cap on 11th April 1959 in a match against Scotland.
The record for the longest national team career is held by Giorgos Koudas from Greece, spanning 27 years, 10 months, and 15 days. He made his debut on 5th November 1967 in a match against Austria and played his last match on 20th September 1995 against Yugoslavia.
Lothar Matthäus from Germany holds the record for being the most capped football player at the FIFA World Cup, having played in 25 matches.
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