If you look up the word consistency in the dictionary, Cristiano Ronaldo’s face might pop up. Like Lionel Messi with Argentina, Ronaldo is leading Portugal in his sixth career World Cup during the tournament in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
However, as Ronaldo scored his first goals of the 2026 World Cup, the Portuguese legend accomplished something not even Messi—who broke Ronaldo’s record as the oldest player to score a World Cup hat trick—has done. But the Argentine star also lost a record to the Portuguese striker, as Ronaldo surpassed Messi as the oldest player with a World Cup brace.
Ronaldo has become the only player in World Cup history to score in six different tournaments. Talk about showing up on the biggest stage. Despite his tremendous efforts and scoring pace in the tournament, Cristiano and Portugal have never made it past the semifinals. That came in Ronaldo’s first-ever World Cup appearance.
Ronaldo’s goals in World Cups
Through six tournament appearances, Ronaldo has scored 10 goals in FIFA World Cups. His first goal was against Iran during the 2006 World Cup. Twenty years later, Ronaldo scored his ninth World Cup goal and became the only player in history to score in six different World Cups. For good measure, he added another against Uzbekistan in the 2026 World Cup.
Cristiano Ronaldo #7 of Portugal during 2026 World Cup.
In addition to his one-goal return in the 2006 World Cup, Ronaldo scored one goal in 2010 and 2014. In the 2018 World Cup, he netted four goals, including a hat trick against Spain. Up until Messi scored a hat trick against Algeria in Argentina’s 2026 World Cup debut, the Argentine had never scored three goals in a single World Cup match.
During the 2022 World Cup, Ronaldo scored only one goal as Portugal’s dream came to a crushing end at the hands of Morocco in the quarterfinals. Coming into the 2026 World Cup, Ronaldo averaged 1.6 goals per World Cup. As for Messi, his goals-per-World Cup average was 2.6 before this year’s tournament. Messi leads the 2026 World Cup Golden Boot race with five goals in two games, so it doesn’t take a mathematician to realize his scoring rate has skyrocketed.
Ronaldo’s targets in World Cups
Ronaldo has scored against the following teams throughout his World Cup career: Iran (2006 World Cup), North Korea (2010), Ghana (2014), Spain (hat trick in 2018), Morocco (2018), Ghana (2022), and Uzbekistan (brace in 2026).
Needless to say, Ghana have become one of his favorite victims in the World Cup, although he had his best-ever match in a World Cup against Iberian rivals Spain.
| Opponent | World Cup | Final score |
| Iran | 2006 | 2-0 |
| North Korea | 2010 | 7-0 |
| Ghana | 2014 | 2-1 |
| Spain x3 | 2018 | 3-3 |
| Morocco | 2018 | 1-0 |
| Ghana | 2022 | 3-2 |
| Uzbekistan | 2026 |
