Cristiano Ronaldo, the captain of Portugal and one of the all-time greats in football, just hit another incredible milestone in his illustrious career during Portugal's Round of 32 match against Croatia in the FIFA World Cup 2026. At 41 years old, he became the oldest player to score in a men's World Cup knockout match, netting a second-half penalty that helped secure a 2-1 victory for Portugal. This goal also made him the oldest player to score in any knockout stage, breaking Lionel Messi's previous record. Remarkably, it was Ronaldo's first-ever goal in a World Cup knockout game. Before this match, he had gone through eight knockout appearances without finding the back of the net, marking the second-longest scoreless streak for a forward in the tournament's history.

That lengthy wait had him just shy of Dirk Kuyt, who holds the record for nine World Cup knockout matches without a goal. Ronaldo's eight-game drought was one of the more peculiar records of his career, especially considering his success in major tournaments. While he did score the winning penalty in Portugal's quarterfinal shootout against England in 2006, those shootout goals don’t count as official World Cup goals. Other players on this list include Denilson (7), Marcus Rashford (7), and Ousmane Dembélé (6).

Portugal Fight Back to Beat Croatia 2-1, Set Up Round of 16 Clash With Spain

Portugal staged a thrilling comeback to secure their spot in the Round of 16 with a 2-1 win over Croatia. The first half ended without any goals, as Portugal dominated possession but struggled to penetrate Croatia's well-organized defense. The breakthrough came for Croatia in the 53rd minute when Ivan Perišić capitalized on a dangerous ball from Josip Stanišić, finishing it off after it had skidded through the penalty area.

But Portugal wasn’t about to back down. Manager Roberto Martínez made some strategic substitutions that injected new energy into the game. The equalizer came in the 68th minute when a VAR review awarded Portugal a penalty after Nikola Vlašić fouled Renato Veiga. Ronaldo stepped up and coolly slotted the ball home, leveling the score at 1-1 and adding another record to his World Cup achievements. As the match ticked into stoppage time, Rafael Leão sent in a cross from the left, and Gonçalo Ramos rose to head it in during the 90+4th minute, completing Portugal's remarkable turnaround.

Croatia thought they had equalized late in added time, but VAR intervened, disallowing the goal for offside after confirming a slight touch from Igor Matanović before the ball reached Mario Pašalić. Portugal held firm to clinch the win and move on to the Round of 16, where they will face Spain. In the end, Portugal enjoyed 62% possession, took 15 shots with three on target, and earned nine corners, while Croatia managed 13 shots, seven of which were on target, in a tightly contested knockout match.