JAKARTA Playing for elite European clubs is the dream of all professional footballers. However, the opportunity to wear the national team uniform is an honor to be targeted.
Not infrequently in order to appear for the national team, several players at elite clubs reportedly played too carefully to avoid injury. For example, during the club match ahead of the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
In history defending the national team, some players have the opportunity to only play once, while others have set a record for playing with their country more than 100 times.
Here are the 10 players with the most performances with the country in the history of men's football.
The 38-year-old made his 197th appearance for Portugal in a 4-0 win against Liechtenstein in the Euro 2024 qualifiers.
In that match, the former Real Madrid player scored two goals to solidify his position as the top scorer at international level with the national team to 120 goals.
Al-Mutawa, who turned 38 in January, still has a chance to reach 200 caps with Cristiano Ronaldo. He could increase the number of appearances if he appeared when Kuwait faced Lebanon in a friendly match on November 20.
Al-Mutawa's international career began in 2003 when he was 18 years old. He has almost always appeared for Kuwait since then. So far he has scored 56 goals and helped his country win the 10th Gulf Cup in 2010.
Soh Chin Ann may not be a well-known name outside Malaysia, but of course there are only two players in international football history who have more international performances than him.
The centre-back made his debut for the senior team in 1969 or just 12 years after Malaysia gained independence from England. Soh then played for Malaysia at the 1972 Olympics.
Soh ended his international career in 1984 after making 195 appearances for Malaysia.
Hassan is a legendary figure in Egyptian football who wore the national team uniform in eight editions of the African Cup of Nations. He became part of the squad that won the competition four times from the eight appearances.
The Prahaohs was crowned king on the continent in 1998, 2006, 2008, and 2010, and Hassan played a major role in every of these successes.
No player has won more African Cup of Nations than midfielder with 184 caps. However, Hassan's only regret was failing to appear in the World Cup.
Mubarak is a player who has defended no less than 14 clubs in his homeland and played in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates. He collected 183 caps for Kuwait before retiring from the international world in 2019.
The peak of the midfielder's career with Oman occurred in the 2017/2018 Gulf Cup. At that time, Al-Ahmar, nicknamed the Oman national team, managed to come out as champions and Ahmed Mubarak then decided to hang up his boots.
Despite having returned to his best performance at PSG, Ramos has not been called into the Spanish national team for the Qatar 2022 World Cup. However, this Real Madrid legend still hopes to be in the team at Euro next year.
If the winner of the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2008 and 2012 is no longer called then he can choose to end his international career after making 180 appearances for La Furia Roja.
Claudio Suarez is no longer the sole record holder of the top scorer in Mexico or North America after being taken over by Guardado at the 2022 World Cup.
Guardado is a 36-year-old veteran midfielder who currently plays for Real Betis. However, he remains an integral part of the Mexican national team.
Qatar's 2022 World Cup is his fifth chance to play in the competition. He made 179 appearances for Mexico after playing in Qatar's pre-World Cup friendly against Sweden and then against Argentina in the group stage.
The player who plays goalkeeper and has played for the Al Ta'ee and Al-Hilal clubs has successfully made more performances for the national team than any other player in his position.
Al-Deayea was originally a handball player. However, his brother then convinced him to switch to football. Al-Deayea won the 1996 Asian Cup and was included in the Saudi Arabia squad at the World Cup between 1994 and 2006.
Claudio made his international debut in 1992 and continues to be the national team's mainstay player for the next 14 years. He ended up hanging out for El Tri after the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
Suarez captained Mexico for years and enjoyed many successes, especially helping his country achieve glory in the Golden Cup in 1993, 1996, and 1998.
He is also an important part of the squad that won the 1999 Confederation Cup. At that time Mexico came out as champions after surprising Brazil in the final match.
Buffon is no longer part of the Italian squad after failing to qualify for the World Cup in Russia. However, the former Juventus goalkeeper made the most appearances for the Azzurri than any player.
Buffon made his Italian national team debut in 1997 when he was 19 years old. He later represented his country 176 times, including in eight major tournaments.
The proudest moment for him was when he helped Italy win their fourth World Cup in 2006, just days before his club, Juventus relegated to Serie B for being involved in the Calciopoli scandal.
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