Ronaldo scores on European record appearance

Cristiano Ronaldo marked a record 181st international appearance with a goal as Portugal defeated World Cup hosts Qatar 3-0 in a friendly game on Saturday.

The Manchester United star surpassed Sergio Ramos, who has played for Spain 180 times, as the most-capped international for a European nation.

Ronaldo opened the scoring in the 37th minute with Jose Fonte adding a second three minutes into the second half. RB Leipzig striker Andre Silva completed the scoring in the last minute of the game.

Portugal resume their World Cup qualifying campaign on Tuesday when they host Luxembourg.

They are currently second in Group A, a point behind Serbia but with a game in hand.

Ronaldo was named among the 30 nominees for the Ballon d’Or on Friday, he won the trophy five times.

The prestigious award was not handed out in 2020 due to the pandemic. Ronaldo was third in the 2019 Ballon d’Or vote behind Lionel Messi and Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk.