Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo scored a last-gasp winner against Iceland on the night he became the first men’s player in history to reach 200 international appearances.
Ronaldo’s goal, a record-extending 123rd in international football, maintained Portugal’s perfect start to Euro 2024 qualifying with four wins from four matches.
The 38-year-old, who made his debut for Portugal in 2003, received a Guinness World Record certificate to mark the occasion prior to kick off.
“So happy,” Ronaldo told uefa.com after the match. “It’s the kind of moment you never expect, to reach 200 caps. For me it’s an unbelievable achievement.
“To be in the Guinness World Records is amazing and to score the winning goal is even more special. So I have to say thank you to the stadium, to Iceland, the people, the fans, the stadium for having this kind of party for me.
“Also to the Portugal national team, the federation. I’m so happy. It’s a special day, I have to say thank you to all of them. They made my day. They made my night.”
Iceland’s Willum Willumsson was sent off after being shown is second yellow card with 10 minutes remaining, opening the door for a Portugal winner.
Ronaldo was made to wait to celebrate his goal after teammate Gonçalo Inácio, who provided the assist, was initially ruled to be offside, only for VAR to overturn the decision.
The Portugal captain has now scored five goals in Euro qualifying and is still playing a key role for the national team, despite a disappointing end to the World Cup in which Ronaldo was dropped to the bench in the knockout stages.
Ronaldo moved to Saudi Arabia to play for Al Nassr after the World Cup following his acrimonious departure from Manchester United, missing out on the league title in his first season at the club.
Elsewhere, Germany suffered a shock 2-0 defeat at home to Colombia, while Senegal recorded an eye-catching 4-2 win over Brazil.
Luis Diaz’s header and Juan Cuadrado’s penalty earned Colombia its first ever win over Germany, which continues to struggle to find form ahead of hosting Euro 2024 next summer.
After being dumped out of the World Cup in the group stages, Germany has won just one of its last five games, including a defeat to Poland last week.
Germany head coach Hansi Flick how now won just half of his 24 games in charge of the national team and was met with ‘Flick Out’ signs in the stadium.
Meanwhile, Bayern Munich forward Sadio Mané scored twice in Senegal’s stunning victory over Brazil in Lisbon, Portugal.
Habib Diallo’s strike and an own goal from Marquinhos completed the scoring for Senegal. Lucas Paquetá and Paris Saint-Germain defender Marquinhos, this time in the right net, got on the scoresheet for Brazil.
It was the first time Brazil had conceded four or more goals in a match since that fateful 7-1 defeat to Germany in the semifinals of the 2014 World Cup.
