Portugal only qualified for the World Cup three times before Ronaldo’s era: 1966, 1986 and 2002. Under his leadership, Portugal qualified each time.
The same goes for the Euro, which Portugal only played three times before Ronaldo: 1984, 1996 and 2000. After his arrival, he participated in the tournament each time. Portugal finished second in Ronaldo’s Euro debut in 2004 on home soil.
At the World Cup, Portugal went as high as fourth under Ronaldo on his debut in the competition in 2006. However, he was among the title contenders almost every time thereafter, with a best result in the quarter-finals in 2022.
“There were perfect afternoons and nights. There were victories that I will never forget. There were defeats that I still remember badly,” Ronaldo said. “I made mistakes. I suffered. There were also times when I couldn’t give the Portuguese what they so desperately wanted. But I never gave up, I never stopped being proud to represent Portugal.”
Portugal’s best World Cup result remains third place in 1966 with the great Eusébio in what was the team’s only World Cup appearance until 1986.
A career of international records
Ronaldo was the first man to score in six World Cups. He reached a record 11 goals at this year’s World Cup, surpassing Eusébio’s previous Portugal record of nine.
He scored for Portugal in 23 consecutive calendar years, from 2004-26.
He became the first player to reach 200 men’s international appearances, and his 234 appearances remain the all-time record in men’s international football.
Ronaldo also has the most Euro appearances with 30 and the most Euro goals with 14. His first ever international goal came at the start of Euro 2004, when hosts Portugal were runners-up to Greece.
Gn sports
