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May 20, 2026
At 41, Cristiano Ronaldo enters the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a chance to rewrite football's age records one more time, starting June 17 against DR Congo in Houston. Can he go all the way with his national team to the tournament's final?
Cristiano Ronaldo arrives at the 2026 FIFA World Cup as the oldest forward in the tournament's history still capable of deciding knockout matches. The Portuguese superstar has scored in five consecutive World Cups and is preparing to do it again at 41. If he finds the net in the United States, Canada or Mexico this summer, he will enter territory no outfield player in the sport's history has ever occupied and there's definitely a lot anticipation about it...
Portugal - The squad announcement for the 2026 World Cup
Cristiano Ronaldo currently holds the mark as the oldest player to score in four different World Cup tournaments, set in 2018 against Morocco at 37. His hat-trick against Spain in that same tournament remains the oldest World Cup hat-trick ever recorded. Both records are his alone.
No outfield player in football history has scored at a World Cup at 41, and the record for the oldest scorer in a World Cup knockout game, currently held by his Portugal teammate Pepe, who struck against Switzerland at the 2022 World Cup at an age Ronaldo has since surpassed, is another mark within reach should Portugal progress beyond the group stage.
Ronaldo has scored 143 international goals across 226 appearances for Portugal, both records in men’s football. He has scored eight times in 22 World Cup matches across five tournaments from 2006 to 2022. In the current season at Al-Nassr, he contributed 35 goals in competitive matches.
He finishes this season having scored 25 league goals in 30 matches in the Saudi Pro League, a better ratio than under any previous manager of the national team. Martinez made clear his place in the squad rests on merit. “We manage the Cristiano Ronaldo that plays for the national team, not the iconic figure,” the coach said. “Age is only a number. We can measure exactly what’s happening on the day.”
The 2026 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup is the widest edition in history, with 48 national teams competing across three countries. Portugal are placed in Group K alongside Uzbekistan, Colombia and the playoff winner between DR Congo, Jamaica and New Caledonia. Their opener is on June 17 at NRG Stadium in Houston.
Martinez has described five substitutions as creating "a starting team and a finishing team" — a structure that suits a player whose career has been built on deciding matches at critical moments. A KTO research study on the 2022 World Cup found that Portugal ranked sixth in bettor engagement, with over half of active users betting at KTO placing wagers on Ronaldo's side — a number the platform expects to rise further given the emotional weight of what may be his final tournament.
Should Portugal reach the final at MetLife Stadium on July 19, Ronaldo would become the oldest player in World Cup final history, surpassing Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff, who was 40 years and 133 days old in the 1982 final. A goal would also make him the oldest scorer in a World Cup final, ahead of Swedish midfielder Nils Liedholm, who scored against Brazil in 1958.
Along with Lionel Messi, Ronaldo stands as one of only six players to have appeared at five World Cup finals. If Messi plays for Argentina against Algeria on June 16, both men share the record of six simultaneously. If Ronaldo takes the pitch on June 17, he holds it alone for 24 hours.
The argument that Ronaldo is too old to contribute at elite level has been recycled at every World Cup since 2018. It has not held up. His three consecutive seasons of 25 or more goals in Saudi Arabia and his over 1,300 official competitive appearances, the highest total ever recorded for an outfield player, are the clearest possible answer.
Martinez noted that what surprised him most after taking charge was not Ronaldo’s reputation, but his hunger. “Somebody that has won everything has the hunger of somebody that hasn’t won a trophy yet,” he said. That hunger arrives in North America this summer pointing at a record no 41-year-old has ever been in a position to break.
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Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Al Nassr is on May 21, against Damac, for the Saudi Pro League. You can watch Al Nassr vs Damac, Real Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao, Valencia vs Barcelona, Brighton vs Manchester United, SC Freiburg vs Aston Villa and Manchester City vs Aston Villa, all matches provided from our football streaming game pages.
Al Nassr next game:
Al Nassr vs Damac kick-off time (21-05-2026):
Beijing (China) | UTC/GMT+8: 02:00
India (New Delhi) | UTC/GMT+5.30: 23:30
Saudi Arabia (Riyadh) | UTC/GMT+4: 22:00
Spain (Madrid) | UTC/GMT+2: 20:00
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | UTC/GMT+1: 19:00
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | UTC/GMT-3: 15:00
New York (United States) | UTC/GMT-4: 14:00
Los Angeles (United States) | UTC/GMT-7: 11:00
Sources: ronaldo7.net / yahoo.com / aljazeera.com / sportsmole.co.uk
