Ronaldo sets record for all-time EURO appearances

Not content with breaking the Portugal appearances record with his 128th cap on Saturday, Cristiano Ronaldo has reached another milestone against Hungary tonight. 

The Portugal captain moves ahead of Lilian Thuram, the former France defender, and Netherlands goalkeeping great Edwin van der Sar with his 17th UEFA European Championship finals appearance.  

And there's more: the Real Madrid forward could yet become the first player to score in four different EURO final tournaments.

Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal (17)
Ronaldo is the UEFA European Championship's all-time time top scorer – qualifying and finals combined – with 26 goals. His three previous EUROs have yielded a quarter-final (2008), a semi (2012) and a runners-up berth (2004), as well as six goals for the man himself. His individual achievements are well documented. Not only has the 31-year-old won three UEFA Champions Leagues, he has picked up three Ballons d'Or and is both Real Madrid and Portugal's all-time leading scorer.

Edwin van der Sar, Netherlands (16)
A veteran of 130 matches for the Netherlands, Van der Sar fell tantalisingly short of glory with the Oranje more than once. The tall goalkeeper belongs to an elite club of players to have figured in four EUROs and on each occasion got to at least the quarter-finals. Twice he served between the posts as his country made it to the last four only to fall at that penultimate hurdle – perhaps most agonisingly at UEFA EURO 2000, where the Dutch lost to Italy on penalties having spurned two spot kicks in regulation time.

Lilian Thuram, France (16)
The France defender's 142nd and last international outing came as captain against the Netherlands – and Van der Sar – in Les Bleus' second UEFA EURO 2008 group game. Being overlooked for France's subsequent fixture – a 2-0 defeat by Italy which confirmed their elimination – meant he had to share the finals appearance record. It also signalled a meek conclusion to his benchmark-setting career in which, most notably, Thuram was a stalwart of the 1998 World Cup and UEFA EURO 2000-winning squads.

• Ronaldo makes history by scoring in fourth finals
  

Most appearances in EURO final tournaments
17: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal)
16: Lilian Thuram (France), Edwin van der Sar (Netherlands)
15: Gianluigi Buffon (Italy), Cesc Fàbregas (Spain), Andrés Iniesta (Spain), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Germany)
14: Iker Casillas (Spain), Petr Čech (Czech Republic), Philipp Lahm (Germany), Luis Figo (Portugal), Nuno Gomes (Portugal), Karel Poborský (Czech Republic), Sergio Ramos (Spain), David Silva (Spain), Zinédine Zidane (France)