Cristiano Ronaldo finally ends 20 years of tough times with Portugal at the World Cup.
Cristiano Ronaldo has finally ended his 20-year-long World Cup struggle with Portugal in tonight’s Round of 32 match against Croatia.
The Portuguese legend has had an amazing international career, winning the 2016 UEFA European Championship—even though he got injured early in the final against France. Since then, he’s won the UEFA Nations League twice with Portugal, scoring 15 goals in that competition, including one against Spain during their 2025 tournament win.
At the 2026 World Cup, Ronaldo made history by becoming Portugal’s all-time top scorer at the tournament, scoring his ninth and tenth goals. Those two goals came in a 5-0 win over Uzbekistan, and after two draws against DR Congo and Colombia, Portugal made it to the knockout stage.
Tonight, facing Croatia, Ronaldo finally broke his 20-year World Cup heartache—right before retiring from international football. Although he’s had a brilliant career, he had never scored in a World Cup knockout match before tonight, despite playing in eight such games.
Since 2006, Ronaldo hadn’t scored beyond the group stage at the World Cup—that is, until he scored a penalty tonight against Croatia. Just minutes before, he scored from open play, but it was ruled offside by a tiny margin after a video review. He controlled a high ball beautifully and chipped the keeper, but his position was a fraction offside.
When Portugal got a penalty after a foul on Renato Veiga, Ronaldo calmly stepped up. At 41 years old, with two decades of World Cup knockout misses behind him, he confidently placed the penalty right down the middle—beating Croatia’s keeper Dominik Livaković, who had just recently saved a penalty from England’s Harry Kane.
The game between Portugal and Croatia was full of excitement and chances, with eight big scoring opportunities created between the two teams. Portugal had five chances but scored only one goal, while Croatia had three chances and also scored once. Both teams even hit the post during the match.
Ronaldo’s penalty was his 11th World Cup goal across six tournaments, putting him tied for ninth on the all-time World Cup scorers list. Ahead of him is his long-time rival Lionel Messi, who holds the record with 19 goals, while Kylian Mbappe is close behind with 18 goals in far fewer appearances.