List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps
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In association football, a cap is traditionally awarded in international football to a player making an official appearance for their national team. This article lists all men's football players who have played in 100 or more official international matches for a national football team according to world football's global governing body FIFA. In total, 613 men's footballers from 112 nationalities have officially played in 100 or more international matches. The record for the most official men's international appearances is currently held by Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal with 206 caps, surpassing Bader Al-Mutawa of Kuwait's previous record total of 196 caps in March 2023.[1][2][3]
Prior to Bader Al-Mutawa, the record was held by Soh Chin Ann of Malaysia, with 195 caps. This was only ratified by FIFA in August 2021, despite Soh Chin Ann playing his final game for Malaysia in 1984. In total, Soh Chin Ann has made 219 appearances for Malaysia. This discrepancy is due to FIFA not recognising matches such as those within the Olympic Games and those not categorised as 'A' matches. All 219 appearances made by Soh Chin Ann are recognised by football statistic organisations RSSSF and IFFHS, which both recognise Soh Chin Ann as the record holder for the most international caps.[4][5][6]
The first men's footballer to play in 100 official international matches was Billy Wright of England in 1959, however the 100th match is disputed between FIFA and The Football Association. FIFA recognise the match against Italy in May 1959 as the official 100th cap, whereas the Football Association recognise the match prior against Scotland in April 1959 to be the 100th cap. This is due to FIFA not recognising the match against Argentina in May 1953 as official. Billy Wright would finish with 105 international caps.[7][8]