Portugal football team superstar Cristiano Ronaldo scripted history by becoming the oldest player to score a goal in a FIFA World Cup knockout match. It was the first-ever goal in a FIFA World Cup knockout game for Ronaldo as he converted a penalty against Croatia during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 clash against Croatia. At 41 years and 147 days old, he also became the first player ever to score a goal in a FIFA World Cup knockout match after turning 40. The record previously belonged to his former teammate Pepe, who was 39 years and 283 days old when he scored against Switzerland in 2022.
Portugal received a penalty in the second half after defender Renato Veiga was brought down in the box during a corner. Ronaldo took the spot kick and calmly converted the chance to equalise for his side after Ivan Perisic‘s opener.
Cristiano Ronaldo score penalty against Croatia #WorldCup #Croatia #FIFAWorldCup2026 #PORCRO #Portugal pic.twitter.com/iMrMjxwvlO
— qasimedge (@h7nterking) July 3, 2026
Earlier, he had a goal disallowed after he took down an aerial pass from the deep and put the ball inside the goal over the Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic. However, the celebrations were short-lived as the offside flag was raised. While Ronaldo looked onside at first glance, replays showed that his shoulder was in an offside position.
Goncalo Ramos scored the second goal as Portugal defeated Croatia 2-1 to reach the Round of 16.
The final minutes of the match witnessed yet another VAR drama when a late goal by Josko Gvardiol was disallowed.
A pass by Perisic found Igor Matanovic who flicked it for Mario Pasalic. The ball got out of the midfielder’s control but Gvardiol was present to put it into the net. However, the VAR decided that the touch by Matanovic happened when Pasalic was in an off-side position and as a result, the goal was disallowed.