•Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo has extended his record as the most-capped men’s international player in Europe, reaching 234 appearances for Portugal.
He moved it to that after his appearance during Portugal’s 1-0 win over Wales in their UEFA Nations League Group D opener.
The 41-year-old Portuguese star became the first player to reach 200 international appearances when he featured against Iceland in June 2023, marking the occasion with an 89th-minute winner.
Ronaldo had previously broken the European record by winning his 197th cap against Liechtenstein on March 23, 2023, scoring twice in the process.
He took his tally to 199 against Bosnia and Herzegovina in UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying on June 17, 2023, before reaching 200 three days later against Iceland.
Ronaldo surpassed the previous European record of 180 appearances, held by Spain’s Sergio Ramos, in 2021.
His appearance against Morocco in the 2022 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals also saw him equal Bader Al-Mutawa’s then-world record of 196 caps for Kuwait.
Ronaldo has since moved further clear of the European record.
All these were detailed in an updated release yesterday on the Nations League website.
Europe’s most-capped men’s international players:
234: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)*
He scored his 144th, 145th and 146th international goals in summer 2026 as he became the first player to score at six World Cup final tournaments.
202: Luka Modrić (Croatia)*
Modrić surpassed long-time team-mate Darijo Srna to become Croatia’s most-capped player in March 2021.
“When will you stop playing?” wife Vanja asked the inspiration behind Croatia’s run to the 2018 World Cup final.
“I don’t know, my love,” came the reply. “You’ll have to be patient.”
Croatia midfielder, Luka Modric
Modrić captained Croatia to back-to-back World Cup semi-finals when they reached the last four in 2022 and inspired them to the 2023 UEFA Nations League final.
180: Sergio Ramos (Spain)
Ramos surpassed Gianluigi Buffon’s previous European record of 176 caps while playing for Spain in their UEFA Nations League game in Switzerland on November 14, 2020.
The youngest European man to reach 100 caps, at the age of 26 in March 2013, Ramos won two UEFA European Championship titles and one World Cup.
He retired in February 2023 after not appearing for Spain since March 2021.
176: Gianluigi Buffon (Italy)
A 2006 World Cup winner with Italy, Buffon made his final appearance for the Azzurri in a March 2018 friendly against Argentina.
That achievement came after he surpassed Dino Zoff’s national record of 112 caps in 2011.
“When I made my Italy debut back in 1997, getting to this total was just a dream for me,” he said.
168: Robert Lewandowski (Poland)*
The 37-year-old striker reached 150 caps in Poland’s 2-1 victory over Türkiye in their final friendly before Euro 2024.
He has appeared in four Euro final tournaments, scoring in all of them, including three goals at Euro 2020.
Lewandowski also featured at the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, when Poland reached the round of 16.
167: Iker Casillas (Spain)
Casillas, a former Real Madrid goalkeeper, summed up his experience of playing for Spain as “Responsibility. Pride. Satisfaction. Happiness. Commitment. Respect for those who preceded me. An infinity of words – and doing everything for the Spanish fans.”
Like Ramos, he won two European Championship titles and a World Cup with Spain.
166: Vitālijs Astafjevs (Latvia)
“I love football and have always loved it,” said the journeyman midfielder after he played his farewell international, aged 39, in November 2010.
Astafjevs’ personal pinnacle came when he represented Latvia at Euro 2004.
“We worked a miracle, everyone was amazed,” he said. “That was true happiness.”
159: Konstantin Vassiljev (Estonia)
The former Flora midfielder, who also played in Slovenia, Russia and Poland during his career, retired in November 2024.
He scored 14 league goals in the 2023 season, his highest tally since 2006, despite turning 39 during that campaign.
158: Ivan Perišić (Croatia)*
Still scoring goals and providing assists at the age of 37, Perišić has been a mainstay for Croatia since making his debut in 2011.
He holds Croatia’s record for most goals and goal contributions at major tournaments.
Perišić scored and assisted in Croatia’s 2018 World Cup semi-final victory over England and scored in the eventual final defeat by France.
He also registered a goal and an assist during Croatia’s campaign at the 2026 World Cup.
157: Jan Vertonghen (Belgium)
The former Ajax and Tottenham centre-back returned to Belgium in 2022, signing for Anderlecht after two years with Benfica.
He made his senior international debut in June 2007, playing the full 90 minutes of a Euro 2008 qualifier against Portugal.
Vertonghen helped Belgium reach Euro 2024 on his 151st appearance before announcing his international retirement after the Red Devils lost to France in the round of 16.
156: Martin Reim (Estonia)
“There is no way I could go on playing until I die,” said midfielder Reim as he made his farewell appearance, aged 38, in 2009, ending a 17-year run with the national team.
Apart from a brief spell with Finland’s KooTeePee, Reim spent his entire club career in Estonia.
He also managed Estonia from 2016 to 2019.
152: Granit Xhaka (Switzerland)*
The midfielder played at his fourth World Cup in 2026, having also featured at three European Championships for Switzerland.
“I’ve been lucky and privileged to play alongside some really big names, and for a team that have achieved a lot in recent years,” he said.
“It’s not a given that you’ll make it to every finals competition.”
151: Christian Eriksen (Denmark)
Eriksen was first capped at the age of 18 in March 2010, two months after making his senior debut for Ajax.
The attacking midfielder became an important player for Denmark before suffering a cardiac arrest during the team’s opening game at Euro 2020.
He returned to international football in March 2022 and became Denmark’s most-capped player during Euro 2024.
151: Edin Džeko (Bosnia and Herzegovina)*
Džeko scored his first international goal on his debut in a 2007 victory against Türkiye.
The striker helped Bosnia and Herzegovina qualify for their first major tournament, the 2014 World Cup.
He has been the country’s captain for more than a decade and is its all-time leading scorer and most-capped international.
Džeko also helped Bosnia and Herzegovina qualify for a second World Cup with a play-off final victory over Italy in 2026.
150: Lothar Matthäus (West Germany/Germany)
A European champion in 1980 and World Cup winner 10 years later, Matthäus played across two eras of German football.
The box-to-box midfielder later moved into a sweeper role and earned praise from Diego Maradona, who said: “He is the best rival I’ve ever faced. I guess that’s all you need to know.”
Editor’s note:
Players marked with an asterisk have yet to retire from international football.
Data correct as of yesterday, Friday, September 25, 2026.
