Cristiano Ronaldo continues to defy his age. His 68th minute penalty against Croatia made him the second oldest player to score a men’s World Cup goal, according to Opta, at 41 years and 147 days old.
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Only Cameroon’s Roger Milla sits above him, having scored against Russia at USA 1994 aged 42 years and 39 days, a record that has stood for over three decades.
Ronaldo’s tournament has been a rollercoaster. He was quiet against DR Congo before a brace against Uzbekistan made him the oldest player ever to score twice in a World Cup match, and the first to score in six different editions of the competition.
Two of the seven oldest scorers in World Cup history have done it 15 minutes apart in the same match:https://t.co/WvqLSxbkz7
— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) July 3, 2026
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He is not the only veteran on the list. Portugal’s Pepe ranks third after his header against Switzerland in 2022, while Lionel Messi sits fourth following his strike against Jordan, scored three days after turning 39.
Croatia’s Ivan Perisic also earned a place, scoring in the same fixture as Ronaldo at 37 years and 150 days old. Sweden’s Gunnar Gren, Mexico’s Cuauhtemoc Blanco, Panama’s Felipe Baloy, Austria’s Marko Arnautovic and Uruguay’s Obdulio Varela round out the top 10, a list stretching back to 1954.
Photo: REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
