As he prepares to make his 200th appearance for his country, Portugal, in an international match against Iceland in qualifying for Euro 2024, Cristiano Ronaldo said on Monday that he will “never give up” playing for Portugal.
When the 38-year-old player earned his 197th cap for his country in March against Liechtenstein, he established a new record for men’s appearances in men’s international competition.
“I will never give up coming here (to the Portugal national team), because it’s always a dream,” he said during a news conference in Reykjavik before of Tuesday’s matchup. “It’s always a dream,” he said.
“Reaching 200 international matches isn’t something that just anybody can do; it demonstrates the love I have for both my country and my team,” said the athlete.
Ronaldo has scored four goals in three games since Roberto Martinez took over as the coach of Portugal earlier this year. However, Ronaldo was unable to reach the back of the net in Portugal’s 3-0 victory against Bosnia and Herzegovina last week.
“It would be spectacular to crown my 200th international game with a goal,” continued Ronaldo, who holds the all-time record for men’s international scoring with 122 goals. “It would be spectacular to crown my 200th international game with a goal.”
“I’m not going after records; records are going after me,” he said. I’m glad because it helps keep me motivated to perform at the maximum level with the team, and so it makes me happy.
“It’s something that I never in a million years would have thought I’d accomplish.”
Martinez has said unequivocally that the striker, who now performs his duties in Saudi Arabia for Al-Nassr, will begin the match.
“A player reaching 200 matches, that’s unique,” remarked the former head coach of Belgium. “A player reaching 200 matches, that’s unique.”
“It’s something that the Portuguese football community can be proud of.”
After not allowing an opponent to score in any of their three victories, Portugal is now in first position in Group J and is well on their way to qualifying for the European Championship in Germany in 2019.