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January 14, 2026
Ronaldo's World Cup story stretches across two decades of modern football, marked by big goals, near misses, and shifting expectations. From a fearless 21-year-old in Germany to a veteran chasing history, Portugal’s results have risen and fallen alongside their greatest-ever player on the game’s biggest stage...
The upcoming FIFA World Cup will mark Cristiano Ronaldo's final foray onto football's grandest stage, and the all-time great has more than made his mark over the years. He is the only man in history to score in five editions of the tournament, and he will be aiming for more this summer as he breaks another record: becoming one of just two players to ever feature at six different instalments of the competition. The other? Old sparring partner Lionel Messi, who will also be looking to make history in 2026...
Cristiano Ronaldo - Top 20 memorable moments
The pressure is certainly on Ronaldo this summer, especially if he wants to cement his legacy as the greatest player who's ever lived. After his exploits four years ago in Qatar, many now consider Messi as the GOAT, with the little magician dragging Argentina to the title at the ripe old age of 36, his first World Cup crown at the fifth time of asking.
CR7 will likely have to repeat that achievement to return to the greatest of all time conversation, and he will have to do so at the age of 41.
But online betting sites aren't big on Portuguese hopes. The latest World Cup odds list the Seleção das Quina as a 11/1 shot to leave MetLife Stadium as first-time champions on July 19th. To put that into perspective, Messi's Argentina are 8/1 third favourites, just behind frontrunners Spain (9/2) and England (11/2).
With 2026 marking Ronaldo's sixth and final foray onto the esteemed World Cup stage, we decided to take a look back at the great man's five previous efforts. Here is how CR7 has performed at football's biggest party in years gone by.
Back in 2006, Cristiano Ronaldo made his World Cup bow as a sprightly 21-year-old winger just starting to come of age. He was already the star of the show in a stacked Portugal team that contained the likes of Luis Figo, Deco, and Ricardo Carvalho. Led by Luis Felipe Scolari, the Seleção das Quina immediately set about their business.
They breezed through the group stage, winning all three games to top their quartet. In the second round, they contested the ill-tempered "Battle of Nuremberg" against the Netherlands, a game that saw a record 16 yellow and four red cards dished out. But it was Ronaldo and Portugal who progressed, with tenacious midfielder Maniche netting the only goal of the game.
In the quarterfinals, Portugal met England in a similarly bad-tempered affair. Ronaldo and Co. had just eliminated the Three Lions from Euro 2004 two years prior, winning on penalties in front of an adoring home crowd in Lisbon. This time around, CR7 would be in the headlines, playing a crucial role in the controversial sending off of Manchester United teammate Wayne Rooney, before scoring the decisive penalty in a second straight shootout victory.
That punched Portugal's ticket to the semifinals for the first time since finishing third in 1966. But unfortunately, a veteran Zinedine Zidane would prove too hot to handle, scoring the only goal of the game from the penalty spot to seal Les Bleus' spot in the final.
Four years later, Portugal were immediately up against it, having been drawn into the group of death alongside Brazil, the Ivory Coast, and North Korea, ultimately finishing as runners-up to the record five-time champion Brazilians. Cristiano Ronaldo's men didn't concede a single goal in the group stage, but unfortunately, they also drew blanks in two of their three games, and they would do the same in a crunch second-round clash with rivals Spain. La Roja took full advantage, prevailing 1-0 courtesy of David Villa's second-half strike, before going on to win the trophy for the first time.
The 2014 World Cup in Brazil was arguably Ronaldo's most disappointing effort on the global stage. He had just led Real Madrid to La Decima, Los Blancos’ tenth Champions League title and first in 12 years. As such, he headed across the Atlantic as arguably the best player on the planet, but things would go badly wrong almost immediately.
Portugal were thumped 4-0 by eventual champions Germany in their opening game, a devastating loss which immediately put them up against it. A 2-2 draw against the US compounded their fate, and despite winning 2-1 in their final game against Ghana, the damage was already done, and Ronny and Co. had to bow out.
Ronaldo enjoyed arguably his finest hour in the World Cup in 2018, netting a stunning hat trick against Spain in a thrilling 3-3 draw. Unfortunately, however, that was as good as it got. Back-to-back draws against Morocco and Iran set up a testing second-round clash with Uruguay, and it was the two-time champions who would progress after a brace from powerhouse striker Edinson Cavani.
And finally, we come to 2022, Ronaldo's fifth and most recent appearance on the grandest stage. CR7 became the first man in history to score at five separate World Cups when he netted a penalty in Portugal's opening game, a 3-2 win against Ghana. Redemption would then come against Uruguay, with the Seleção das Quina winning 2-0 to secure top spot in Group H. From there, the draw opened up nicely, but the Portugal skipper would have to settle for a supplementary role.
Ronaldo was dropped for the second round clash against Switzerland. Teenage striker Goncalo Ramos would replace him in the starting lineup and proceeded to score a hat trick in a thumping 6-0 win. The youngster kept his place in the starting lineup for the quarterfinal against underdogs Morocco, but he couldn't replicate the magic. The Atlas Lions took a 1-0 lead, and despite Ronaldo's best efforts off the bench, would cling on to the slender lead to become the first African team in history to reach a World Cup semifinal.
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Al Nassr is on January 17, against Al Shabab, for the Saudi Super League. You can watch Al Hilal vs Al Nassr, Albacete vs Real Madrid, Racing Santander vs Barça, FC Porto vs Benfica, Chelsea vs Arsenal and PSG vs Lille, all matches provided from our soccer live game pages.
Al Nassr next game:
Al Nassr vs Al Shabab kick-off time (17-01-2026):
Beijing (China) | UTC/GMT+8: 01:30
India (New Delhi) | UTC/GMT+5.30: 23:00
Saudi Arabia (Riyadh) | UTC/GMT+3: 20:30
Spain (Madrid) | UTC/GMT+1: 18:30
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | UTC/GMT+0: 17:30
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | UTC/GMT-3: 14:30
New York (United States) | UTC/GMT-4: 13:30
Los Angeles (United States) | UTC/GMT-7: 10:30
Sources: ronaldo7.net / bbc.com / givemesport.com
