Cristiano, before 200 matches with Portugal: “I will not resign from the national team”

Cristiano Ronaldo, who will reach his 200th cap for Portugal if he plays against Iceland this Tuesday, said he will not retire from the Portugal team and that his journey “will not end soon”, as he is still an asset to the team, with goals and ” good performances”. “As long as I feel motivated and all the people who are with me like my presence, my participation and my leadership, I will not give up on the team,” he told a news conference in Reykjavik, where Portugal face Iceland this Tuesday in the qualification phase of the Euro 2024.

The 38-year-old Saudi striker Al-Nassr assured that his performance is still good and that he can “help by scoring goals and putting on good displays”, insisting: “I will be here until I feel I should.” “Making 200 internationalizations is nothing. It shows how much I love playing with the national team. I want to continue playing, make my family, my friends, all Portuguese people happy, because the journey has been long, but it will not end soon,” he insisted. In addition, he did not rule out more titles with the Portuguese team, after winning the 2016 Eurocup and the League of Nations in 2019

“I am achieving many records and that makes me happy and with the ambition that I still want to write a lot of history for Portugal. I hope we can win even more titles,” he pointed out. He assured that, after 20 years of playing with the Queens, he still feels “nervous” when he listens to the national anthem, although his experience has changed some things. “There are other factors that more important, due to the fact that I am also the captain, that we have this generation of players so young and we try to be an example,” said Cristiano, who believes that he still has “a lot” to give. “I like to live only in the present. Only God knows the future. But the moment is good and I want to continue,” he repeated.

200 matches with Portugal

Cristiano felt it would be “excellent” to end his 200th match, a new career record, with a goal, but assured that the victory for Portugal and their passage to the Eurocup was “important”. “We know that this is a difficult game, with a good team, playing in front of their fans. But we have our weapons and I’m sure we’ll do well,” he said.

Asked if playing in the Saudi league will make it difficult for him to stay in the national team, Cristiano was open. “That doesn’t bother me at all because since I played in Saudi Arabia I joined the national team. I played three games, so it doesn’t affect it. You should ask the coach this question. I am very happy,” he agreed. Cristiano played his first game for Portugal at the age of 18, a friendly against Kazakhstan in August 2003. Since then he has made 199 appearances and scored 122 goals.