In 2006 and 2026... 41-Year-Old Ronaldo Writes New History by Scoring in 6 World Cups

Portuguese "superstar" Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr) shook off his recent slump and deeply engraved his name in the history of the FIFA World Cup.

Ronaldo scored a brace in the 6th and 39th minutes of the first half in the second match of Group K in the 2026 World Cup group stage against Uzbekistan, held today (24th) at Houston Stadium in Texas, U.S., leading Portugal to a 5-0 victory.

Having appeared in six consecutive World Cups since the 2006 tournament in Germany, Ronaldo scored in this tournament following the previous five, becoming the first player in history to score in six different World Cups.

Additionally, with his 10th career World Cup goal, Ronaldo surpassed "The Black Panther" Eusébio (9 goals) to become Portugal's sole all-time leading World Cup goalscorer.

The history began on June 17, 2006, in the second group stage match against Iran at the Germany World Cup in Frankfurt, Germany.

Ronaldo scored his first World Cup goal by converting a penalty kick in the 80th minute, with Portugal leading 1-0.

The 21-year-old "young man" Ronaldo, who smiled shyly while being congratulated by his teammates at the time, has since stood tall as a global football icon and continued to build his own history on the World Cup stage.

He scored one goal each at the 2010 South Africa and 2014 Brazil tournaments, and exploded with four goals at the 2018 Russia tournament, including a hat-trick in a group stage match against Spain.

At the 2022 Qatar tournament, Ronaldo became the first player to score in five consecutive World Cups with a penalty kick in the first group stage match against Ghana, but as he entered his late 30s, he failed to show the same presence as before.

After moving to Saudi Arabia's Al Nassr in 2023, he drifted away from the center of world football, and at Euro 2024 (European Football Championship), he suffered the humiliation of failing to score in a major international tournament (World Cup/Euro) for the first time.

In response to concerns about his aging ahead of his sixth World Cup, he showed confidence, saying, "Physically, I am very fine. Haven't you watched my games?" However, he faced criticism after missing several scoring opportunities in the tournament's opening match against the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the 18th.

As his scoreless streak in World Cups and Euros combined reached 10 matches, the outstanding performance of his "eternal rival" Lionel Messi (Inter Miami) of Argentina continued, drawing a sharp contrast between their situations.

Messi, who is also playing in his sixth World Cup like Ronaldo, exploded with a whopping five goals in just the first two group stage matches of this tournament, becoming the all-time leading World Cup goalscorer with 18 goals.

Under these circumstances, Ronaldo also finally shook off his slump in major tournaments, announcing his resurgence with a stellar performance.

Ronaldo, who had already extended his own record as the oldest outfield player to appear in a World Cup to 41 years and 138 days on this day, ranked second all-time in the oldest goalscorer category behind Cameroon's Roger Milla (42 years and 39 days), reclaiming his presence in his "World Cup in his 40s."

Portugal, which was always considered a title contender due to Ronaldo's presence but whose best result in the World Cups he played was fourth place (Germany in 2006), has regained its stature as a title contender with Ronaldo's revival and can now continue its challenge.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.