Ronaldo makes World Cup history with goals in six different tournaments

Cristiano Ronaldo, 41, scored twice for Portugal against Uzbekistan at the 2026 World Cup, finding the net in the 6th minute and again in the 39th. After a flat opening match against the Democratic Republic of Congo, his performance sent him into the record books as the first player ever to score in six different World Cups.

The goals were Ronaldo’s 974th and 975th career strikes, keeping him on course toward 1,000. He last scored at a World Cup in Qatar, against Ghana from the penalty spot. In total, he now has 10 World Cup goals in 25 appearances.

Ronaldo’s World Cup scoring history began against Iran on 17 June 2006, in Portugal’s 2-0 win. He has now scored one goal in Germany 2006, South Africa 2010, Brazil 2014 and Qatar 2022, and four in Russia 2018, including a memorable hat trick against Spain. That makes this only the second World Cup in which he has scored more than once.

The article says the brace came after Ronaldo had failed to score in his previous 10 matches at major tournaments, both the Euros and the World Cup. It also notes that he broke the record held by Lionel Messi from the previous day, becoming the oldest player to score a World Cup brace. For Portugal, Ronaldo has now scored 145 goals in 227 appearances, and his last goal for the national team before this match had come in October 2025, when he scored twice in a 2-1 win over Hungary in World Cup qualifying.