Ronaldo breaks the World Cup 'curse'.

Cristiano Ronaldo ended his goal drought in World Cup knockout matches after a record six appearances in the tournament.

Ronaldo breaks the World Cup 'curse'. Photo: Reuters .

In the 68th minute at the Toronto stadium, Ronaldo successfully converted a penalty, helping Portugal equalize 1-1 against Croatia in the Round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup on the morning of July 3rd. This goal marked the first time CR7 had scored in a knockout round match of the most prestigious tournament on the planet.

Previously, despite holding numerous goalscoring records for his national team, the 41-year-old striker had never scored in a World Cup knockout match.

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In previous appearances, Ronaldo has had several forgettable matches in the knockout stages. He failed to score against the Netherlands , England, France, and Germany at the 2006 World Cup. Later, CR7 continued his goalless streak against Spain in the round of 16 in 2010, and was then unable to score against Uruguay at the 2018 World Cup.

Even at the 2022 World Cup, the Portuguese superstar failed to score against Switzerland and Morocco. Ronaldo's goal drought was one of the reasons why the "European Brazil" was eliminated from those tournaments.

Therefore, the goal against Croatia was seen as a moment of relief for Ronaldo. After nearly two decades of competing in World Cups, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner finally broke the "curse" that had plagued him in crucial matches.

This achievement is even more significant considering that the 2026 World Cup is predicted to be Ronaldo's last tournament in the Portuguese national team jersey.

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Source: https://znews.vn/ronaldo-pha-bo-loi-nguyen-world-cup-post1665625.html