Ronaldo breaks record for most appearances

The official national team game recognized by FIFA, known as A match, was held for the first time on Friday after the 2022 Qatar World Cup, establishing several new records.

Cristiano Ronaldo has broken the record for the most appearances in A matches with 197 games. The Portuguese forward left his mark on the Euro 2024 Group J qualifier against Liechtenstein held in Lisbon, where he made his 197th appearance in A matches. Ronaldo was previously tied for first place with Badr Al-Mutawa from Kuwait, with 196 appearances until the quarterfinals of the Qatar World Cup. In addition to setting the appearance record, Ronaldo also increased his record for the most goals scored in A matches to 120 with two goals on this day. Portugal won the game with a score of 4-0.

Harry Kane, who is a teammate of Son Heung-min at Tottenham, also set a new record for England by scoring a penalty kick in the first half of their Euro 2024 Group C opener against Italy in Naples. With this goal, Kane scored his 54th personal goal in A matches, surpassing Wayne Rooney to become the highest scorer in the history of the England national team. England won the match 2-1, marking their first victory in an Italy away game in 62 years since 1961.


Bae-Jung Kim wanted@donga.com