The Portuguese national team had only ever qualified for three World Cups and three European Championships before Cristiano Ronaldo’s debut. 

They had only ever advanced past the World Cup qualifying round once, in 1966. 

They had experienced greater success in the European Championship, making it to the quarterfinals twice and the semifinals twice. 

But in Ronaldo’s first-ever major international competition, the 2004 Euros, Portugal came in second place and lost 1-0 to Greece, the unexpected champions.

Then, in 2016, Ronaldo led them to victory, scoring three goals to tie Antoine Greizmann for the most. 

Since Ronaldo’s debut, Portugal has advanced past the World Cup group stage in all but one of the competitions. They placed fourth in 2006. 

Ronaldo guided Portugal to victory over the Netherlands in the 2019 UEFA Nations League championship match. 

In the process, he has broken multiple international records and completely changed public perception of the Portuguese national team.