Cristiano Ronaldo Sets Two New World Cup Records Against Croatia

Torrenti. Portuguese star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has created history by appearing in the field and scoring a goal in the final 32 match against Croatia in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. With this match, he has managed to register two historic records in his name at once.

When Ronaldo entered the field in the exciting match held on Thursday, he was 41 years and 147 days old. With this, he has become the oldest player in history to play a knockout stage match of the World Cup. The process of creating history did not stop there; by scoring a goal from a penalty in the 68th minute of the match, he also became the oldest player to score in the knockout stage of the World Cup. This is Ronaldo's first goal in the knockout stage of his World Cup history.

Thursday's match was the 26th World Cup match of Ronaldo's career. With this, he is only one match behind former German midfielder Lothar Matthäus in the list of players who have played the most matches in the World Cup. Matthäus has a record of 27 matches, while Argentine star Lionel Messi is at the top with 29 matches.

Since helping Portugal to fourth place in the 2006 World Cup, Ronaldo had only won one knockout stage match in the World Cup until Thursday. However, his penalty goal against Croatia helped Portugal get back into the game. After Ronaldo brought the game to a tie, Gonçalo Ramos scored in the fourth minute of injury time to give Portugal the win.

Ronaldo, who is over 40 years old, was not the only star in Thursday's match. Croatia's captain Luka Modrić also led the team onto the field at the age of 40 years and 296 days. This is the first time in World Cup history that two outfield players over 40 years of age have faced each other on the field.