Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice against Uzbekistan in Houston on Tuesday to become the first footballer ever to find the net at six different FIFA World Cups. The 41-year-old’s brace, delivered inside a dominant first half, separated him from every other man who has played the tournament.
A near-post strike and a trademark celebration
The record arrived early. Six minutes into the Group K contest, Ronaldo slipped to the near post and converted from close range before 68,777 fans, marking it with his familiar “siu” leap. He then turned down a free kick so Nuno Mendes could score instead.
His second goal came before the interval. Racing onto a Bruno Fernandes through ball, he drilled a right-footed shot just inside the near post to make it 3-0. Portugal went on to win 5-0 against tournament debutants Uzbekistan.
Six tournaments, twenty years, one name
The Portugal captain had drawn a blank against Congo DR the previous week, extending a barren tournament run to ten matches. Tuesday’s goals ended the drought and gave him a scoring line across every World Cup he has played: 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 and now 2026.
The feat spans two decades, from a 21-year-old scoring in Germany to a 41-year-old doing it in North America. It breaks a tie with Lionel Messi, who also played a sixth World Cup this year but failed to score in South Africa in 2010.
Milestones stacked on milestones
The brace lifted Ronaldo to 10 career World Cup goals, overtaking Eusébio as Portugal’s all-time leading scorer on the game’s biggest stage. It took his international tally to 145 strikes, extending a record he already held by 23 over Messi.
At 41 years and 138 days, he became the second-oldest man to score at a World Cup, behind only Cameroon’s Roger Milla. The performance earned him the match award on a night Uzbekistan were overwhelmed from the start.
A day before the match, Roberto Martínez had defended his centre-forward. “He’s an example,” the Portugal coach told reporters. “He wants to contribute, and he’s a role model for our team.”
In a tournament likely to be his last, Ronaldo added a mark that cannot be taken away — the first man to score at six World Cups, twenty years after his first.
