Cristiano Ronaldo has consistently challenged limits, from his epic rivalry with Lionel Messi to his unprecedented goalscoring records. And then, at the FIFA World Cup 2026™, at the age of 41, his quiet triumph over time is the greatest miracle fans have witnessed.
He had a lackluster performance, with only 25 touches in the disappointing 1-1 draw against the Democratic Republic of Congo in the opening match. Worse still, while rivals like Lionel Messi exploded with 5 goals, and Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, and Harry Kane consistently found the net in the early days of the tournament, Ronaldo's form in major tournaments was called into question: he had gone goalless in his previous 10 international matches. His two goals against Uzbekistan not only helped Portugal win 5-0 but also made Cristiano Ronaldo the first player in history to score in six different World Cups from the 2006 World Cup to the 2026 FIFA World Cup™, a streak spanning 20 years.
Map analyzing Ronaldo's first goal in the match against Uzbekistan.
Messi also participated in six World Cup finals, but failed to score in South Africa in 2010. This makes Ronaldo the only player to have appeared in six World Cups and left his mark on the scoresheet in each one.
Looking at it from a broader perspective, this is more than just a goal-scoring record. When Ronaldo scored his first goal at the 2006 World Cup, Lamine Yamal was less than a year old. Many players competing in the FIFA World Cup 2026™ haven't even been born yet.
The brace against Uzbekistan also helped CR7 raise his total number of World Cup goals to 10, surpassing Eusébio to become Portugal's top scorer in the tournament's history. At 41 years and 138 days old, he also became the second oldest player to score in a World Cup, behind only Roger Milla of Cameroon.
Photo: AP
In World Cup history, Ronaldo currently holds another remarkable statistic: he is only the third player to have scored for his national team at the tournament, being both the youngest and the oldest, after Michael Laudrup of Denmark and Lionel Messi of Argentina.
If we broaden the scope to his entire career, the picture becomes even more incredible. Ronaldo currently boasts 145 goals in 230 appearances for the Portuguese national team, numbers unprecedented in men's national team football. He has scored in 11 different major tournaments, including 6 World Cups and 6 European Championships.
His total number of followers across social media platforms has exceeded one billion. On Instagram alone, Ronaldo has over 660 million followers.
The FIFA World Cup 2026™ could be Cristiano Ronaldo's last World Cup. What the whole world is watching is how many more historical milestones he has yet to achieve.
Source: https://thethao.vtv.vn/cristiano-ronaldo-cham-toi-cot-moc-ma-messi-chua-co-101260624030757862.htm
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