Cristiano Ronaldo just did it again. At 41, the Portuguese icon has rewritten history, scoring at a record sixth FIFA World Cup after netting for Portugal against Uzbekistan Tuesday.
The goal wasn’t just a goal. It was a statement. It came in Ronaldo’s 24th World Cup appearance, silencing critics who blasted him after Portugal’s 1-1 score with DR Congo in their opener.
With that strike, CR7 extended a record only he owns.
He previously scored at Germany 2006, South Africa 2010, Brazil 2014, Russia 2018, and Qatar 2022.
![](https://www.theconclaveng.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Hartland.png")
Now USA-Mexico-Canada 2026 makes it six mundials in a row. No other player in history has done that.
The record chase isn’t over. Ronaldo’s 24th World Cup game puts him 4 matches behind Argentina’s Lionel Messi on 28 appearances, and just 1 behind Germany legend Lothar Matthäus who played 25.
And there’s more: That goal also made him the second-oldest scorer in World Cup history, behind only Cameroon’s Roger Milla who scored at 42 in 1994.
After the DR Congo game where he failed to score, the knives were out. “Finished,” some said. “Time to retire,” others wrote.
Ronaldo answered the only way he knows how — by making history again.
He now stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Messi as the veteran rewriting football’s record books in 2026. Two legends. One last dance.
Six World Cups. Six times on the scoresheet. One Cristiano Ronaldo.
