After featuring in six consecutive tournaments, Cristiano Ronaldo has finally scored his first-ever World Cup knockout stage goal for Portugal, netting against Croatia in the 2026 World Cup Round of 32.
Croatia initially took the lead in the 53rd minute through Ivan Perisic, whose strike made him Croatia’s all-time top scorer in World Cup history with 7 goals.
Just minutes later, Ronaldo scored what appeared to be an immediate equalizer, but the goal was disallowed for offside following a VAR review.
Ice-Cold Penalty Equals Pele’s Record
In the 68th minute, Portugal was awarded a penalty after a foul on defender Renato Veiga. Ronaldo stepped up and confidently fired the ball down the middle past Dominik Livakovic to bring Portugal level.
This goal marks Ronaldo’s third strike in the 2026 World Cup, following his brace against Uzbekistan in the group stage.
Beyond being his first-ever goal in the World Cup knockout rounds, this is the 41-year-old’s 12th career World Cup goal. With this achievement, the Al-Nassr superstar equals the legendary Brazilian icon Pele’s World Cup tally, leaving him 7 goals behind the tournament’s current all-time top scorer, Lionel Messi.
Ronaldo’s unstoppable passion for the game simply knows no bounds.
⚽️🥅 رونالدو يدرك التعادل للبرتغال من علامة الجزاء ! الحكم الدولي النرويجي إسبن إسكوس منح ركلة جزاء للبرتغال بعد الاستعانة بتقنية الفيديو#كأس_العالم2026 | #مونديال2026 | #كأس_العالم#beINWC26 | #FIFAWorldCup2026 | #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/uW16YzLeQb
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) July 3, 2026
