Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo ends goal drought, first to score at 6 World Cups

Posted by

June 23, 2026

On June 23, 2026

HOUSTON — Cristiano Ronaldo made history Tuesday by becoming the first player to score in six different World Cups, finding the net in Portugal‘s 5-0 win over Uzbekistan.

Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo, 41, had gone 10 games without a goal in major tournaments — a run stretching back to November 2022 — after drawing a blank against Congo DR last Wednesday.

In Tuesday’s Group K game, Ronaldo opened the scoring early with a near-post finish in the sixth minute, before turning down the chance to add a second with a free kick — allowing Nuno Mendes to convert — and then later racing onto a through ball to make it 3-0 before halftime.

Ronaldo and his teammates faced heavy criticism after Portugal’s 1-1 draw with Congo DR — with coach Roberto Martínez being questioned for continuing to pick the star at center forward — giving extra meaning to Tuesday’s win.

“God helps those who work hard. I knew my teammates would help out too,” Ronaldo said after the game. “It was a difficult week, a dark week. It felt like I’d retired from soccer. But I hung in there, as I always do, because I believe in hard work more than anything else.

“It was tough, I have to admit, but we’re back.”

Ronaldo had several chances to move onto a hat trick in the second half Tuesday, but was unable to find a third goal as Portugal moved to four points in the group ahead of their finale against Colombia in Miami on Saturday.

The goals mean the Portugal captain, who was named man of the match, is the first player to score in six different World Cups: 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 and 2026.

He is also now the second-oldest scorer in World Cup history (41 years, 138 days), behind Roger Milla in 1994 for Cameroon against Russia (42 years, 39 days).

Portugal’s fourth goal came on the hour when a low ball into the box took a series of deflections and ended up in the net after ricocheting off Abdukodir Khusanov and Abduvohid Nematov.

The Al Nassr star then forced a fine save from Nematov as he continued to chase a hat trick and Rafael Leão completed the rout when he lashed into the roof of the net when a clearance rolled into his path.

“We’ve improved; that’s just how life is. We face setbacks during games and in life, but the main goal is always to improve,” Ronaldo said. “And that’s what we did. It was a very tough and difficult week, with public opinion being very harsh on all the players, especially on me and the coach.

“But I don’t mind. I’ve been in this profession for 23 years now, and whenever things go well, Cristiano is doing great, but when they go badly, Cristiano is retired, he’s too old. It will always be like that.

“But we responded well today. That’s what we wanted. We played with a high line, and when we do that, it’s hard to stop Portugal.”

This year, Ronaldo and Argentina captain Lionel Messi have become the only men in history to play in six World Cup tournaments.

However, Ronaldo stands alone in scoring in each edition, after Messi failed to score a goal at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Ronaldo now has 10 goals in World Cups, and Messi has 18, after a hat trick in Argentina’s opener against Algeria and two more goals against Austria made him the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history.

“I always arrive. Sooner or later, I’m there. It’s about continuing the work. I truly believe that God helps those who work hard,” Ronaldo said. “It’s always been that way in my career, nothing’s going to change. I’m very happy. The most important thing is the team, being united with them and with our families. We can’t control the rest that comes from outside.

“We know that when we don’t win, we get attacked. Especially me.”

This is likely to be Ronaldo’s final World Cup, after a glittering career which saw him win the European Championships with Portugal in 2016 and the Champions League five times, with Manchester United and Real Madrid.

Tuesday’s game was the 230th of Ronaldo’s international career, the most in the history of the men’s game. He has scored 145 times for Portugal during that span.