MOSCOW, June 18 Portugal national team defender Pepe became the oldest player in the history of the European Football Championships.
He entered the field in the starting lineup in the match of the first round of the Euro 2024 group stage against the Czech team at the age of 41 years and 113 days. He broke the record of former Hungarian national team goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly (40 years 86 days).
Captain of the Portuguese national team Cristiano Ronaldo (39 years 134 days) came in third place according to this indicator. He beat the world and European champion in the German national team, Lothar Matthäus (39 years 91 days).
Pepe made his debut for the Portuguese national team in 2007. As part of the national team, he became the European champion in 2016 and the winner of the Nations League in 2019. The match against the Czechs was the defender’s 138th as a player of the Portuguese national team. Ronaldo played his first match for the national team in 2003 and also won Euro 2016 and the Nations League. The forward entered the field for the 208th time as part of the national team.