Historic Performance
Cristiano Ronaldo's inclusion in Portugal's starting lineup for its round-of-32 win against Croatia at the 2026 FIFA World Cup allowed him to further cement his legacy. He set another record later in the match, too, as he became the oldest player to achieve this feat.
At 41 years and 147 days old, Ronaldo became the oldest player to participate in a World Cup knockout-stage match on Thursday. He also became the oldest player to score a goal in this stage of the tournament with his penalty kick goal in the 68th minute, marking his first-ever goal in the knockout stage at the World Cup.
Thursday's match marked Ronaldo's 26th World Cup appearance, moving him one behind ex-Germany midfielder Lothar Matthäus for the second-most matches played by a player at the World Cup. Argentina star Lionel Messi holds the record at 29.
Ronaldo had only secured one win in the World Cup's knockout stage since helping Portugal finish in fourth place at the 2006 World Cup prior to Thursday. However, his penalty kick goal helped start the comeback for Portugal against Croatia, leveling the match before Gonçalo Ramos scored the game-winner four minutes into stoppage time.
Notably, Ronaldo wasn't the only star in his 40s who played in Thursday's Portugal-Croatia match. Luka Modrić started and captained Croatia on Thursday, at 40 years and 296 days old, making this the first World Cup match to feature two outfield players over the age of 40 competing against each other.
