Ronaldo Becomes First Player to Score in Six World Cups, Creates History
Cristiano Ronaldo silenced critics by scoring two goals against Uzbekistan, becoming the first player in history to score in six consecutive World Cup tournaments, while helping Portugal secure a 5-0 win.
Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to score in six world cups consecutively that he has played in. The latest goals were achieved against Uzbekistan on 23rd June 2026, where Portugal star scored 2 goals, ultimately winning 5-0.
Ronaldo along with Messi are the only two football players who have played in six consecutive World Cup tournaments 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022, and 2026.
Even though Lionel Messi holds the World Cup record for most goals in the tournament with 18 goals overall, he failed to score any goal in the 2010 World Cup. Ronaldo scored 1 goal in the 2010 tournament against South Africa, making him the only player who has scored in every World Cup he has played in consecutively.
Ronaldo’s Latest Performance: Man of the Match
During the game between Portugal and Uzbekistan, Ronaldo scored a goal in the sixth minute, when his teammate João Cancelo passed the ball towards his direction. Ronaldo flicked the ball across the net, making the score 1-0.
His second goal came in the 39th minute which he shot from a close range, when his former club mate Bruno Fernandas gave him an assist leading to a scoreboard of 3-0.
The other 3 goals were scored by Nuno Mendes, Abdukodir Khusanov against his team in the and Rafael Leao created the final blow of 5-0 as the final score.
Ronaldo was awarded the Man of the Match for these 2 goals in the game, which helped in breaking his drought of no goals in the previous World Cup match against DR Congo.
Ronaldo Vs Messi: All World Cup Goals
Here are all the goals scored by Ronaldo and Messi across all 6 FIFA World Cups along with the countries they scored the goal against.
| World Cup | Ronaldo Goals | Ronaldo Opponents | Messi Goals | Messi Opponents |
| 2006 | 1 | Iran | 1 | Serbia & Montenegro |
| 2010 | 1 | North Korea | 0 | - |
| 2014 | 1 | Ghana | 4 | Bosnia & Herzegovina, Iran, Nigeria (2) |
| 2018 | 4 | Spain (3), Morocco | 1 | Nigeria |
| 2022 | 1 | Ghana | 7 | Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Australia, Netherlands, Croatia, France (2) |
| 2026 | 2 | Uzbekistan (2) | 5 | Algeria (3), Austria (2) |
| Total | 10 | 18 |
Ronaldo’s Statement About the Match
After the final whistle was blown making it 5-0, securing Portugal’s win, Ronaldo was seen staring at the television camera saying:
“I’m back.” While talking at the Press Conference, Ronaldo acknowledged the criticism and constant hate that is thrown his way by speaking in Portuguese, “It’s always like that. It doesn’t matter because it’s been 23 years on the job and when things go well, ’Cristiano is good,’ when things go bad, ‘Cristiano is a retired player, is old.’ It will always be like that. But we responded well today, me and my teammates, which is what we wanted.”
Ronaldo was being heavily trolled for failing to score any goals prior to this Uzbekistan match while being compared to Messi, who managed to score 5 goals in 2 games. His 2 goals stunning performance has silenced his critics.
Ayukta Zisha is an education journalist with over three years of experience in digital media. A graduate of St. Xavier’s College, she holds a Master’s degree in English along with a certification in Digital Marketing from IIT Delhi. Backed by a strong academic foundation in the humanities, she specializes in creating educational and general knowledge content across history, geography, literature, and current affairs. During her tenure at Jagran Josh, she worked extensively on U.S. news and global developments, curating informative and engaging content for a diverse readership. Her subject expertise and ability to simplify complex topics enable her to make complex information accessible to a wide audience. Beyond journalism, Ayukta is an avid reader and a published author.
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