Portugal will pay tribute to Cristiano Ronaldo on Saturday when the team faces Denmark in the Nations League at the Estadio Municipal de Braga, marking its first match since the forward announced his retirement from international football on November 5. According to World Soccer Talk, all Portuguese players will walk onto the pitch wearing the No. 7 jersey, the number long associated with Ronaldo during his international career.
It remains unclear whether Ronaldo himself will be present in the stands for the occasion. The tribute was reportedly finalised during a meeting on Thursday involving Portuguese Football Federation president Pedro Proenca, head coach Jorge Jesus and the team's three captains, Bernardo Silva, Ruben Dias and Bruno Fernandes.
As part of the planned tribute, the match is also expected to be paused in the seventh minute to allow spectators to give Ronaldo a standing ovation. The gesture has reportedly received approval from UEFA.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Jesus said the idea did not originate with him or his staff. "Such decisions are always the responsibility of the Portuguese Football Federation, more specifically its football and sporting departments and its president," he said, as quoted by World Soccer Talk. Jesus also praised Ronaldo's legacy, saying, "It is brilliant because nobody can forget the 23 years Cris spent with the national team, what he achieved for Portugal, and the impact he has had on the world of football."
Ronaldo's International Record
Ronaldo, currently with 985 professional football goals, leaves international football with 146 goals in 234 appearances for Portugal, holding the men's records for both most appearances and most goals. His career with the national team began on August 20, 2003, when he debuted as a substitute against Kazakhstan.
He has scored 11 goals in 27 World Cup appearances, making him Portugal's leading scorer in the competition, and his 14 goals in European Championship final tournaments are also a men's record. He has scored against 49 different national-team opponents, with Luxembourg his most frequent victim on 11 goals, followed by Hungary with nine. His record includes 10 hat-tricks, two of them four-goal performances, 22 penalties scored, and 124 goals in competitive fixtures excluding friendlies.
He is the only player to have scored at six different men's World Cups, finding the net in Germany 2006, South Africa 2010, Brazil 2014, Russia 2018, Qatar 2022 and the 2026 edition. His combined tally of 25 goals across the European Championship and World Cup is another record.
His international career included difficult moments, particularly unsuccessful campaigns at major tournaments, before the defining achievement arrived at Euro 2016 in France. Two more major titles followed, both UEFA Nations League triumphs, in 2019 and 2025.
