Cristiano Ronaldo did it again. On a random June afternoon in 2026, the 41-year-old forward stepped onto the pitch against Uzbekistan and casually notched his first goal of the tournament. That made six different World Cups where he’s scored at least once. No one else has done that. Not even Messi.
A day earlier, Lionel Messi had become the all-time leading scorer in World Cup history. Ronaldo didn’t let that sit for long. The guy has always been allergic to letting anyone else have the spotlight. So he went out and took this particular record for himself.
Here’s what’s wild: Ronaldo scored his first World Cup goal in 2006 against Iran. He was 21. Fast forward 20 years and he’s still finding the net at a stage where most players are retired or commentating. He scored in 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 and now 2026. Some of those tournaments he only scored once. In 2018 he had a hat trick against Spain plus another goal. But the point is consistency. He’s been showing up and scoring for two decades.
His two goals against Uzbekistan pushed him past Eusebio as Portugal’s all-time World Cup scorer. He’s now in double figures for the competition. All of his goals, though, have come in the group stage. That’s an odd stat for someone with his resume.
Messi’s Record Looks Different Now
Messi scored on his World Cup debut in 2006 at 18 years old. Then he went seven straight appearances without a goal. Seven. That included the entire 2010 tournament. He finally broke the drought in 2014 with four group-stage goals, added one in 2018, then exploded for seven in 2022 including a brace in the final. Argentina won that one, which settled a lot of debates.
At 38 years old in 2026, Messi scored five goals in his first two games. He’s now the all-time leading World Cup scorer and the all-time appearance leader. But because he didn’t score in 2010, he can only reach five World Cups with goals. Ronaldo has him beat there.
The Short List of Players Who Scored at Four or More World Cups
Only five players have ever scored at four or more World Cups. Here they are.
Miroslav Klose scored at four World Cups for Germany from 2002 to 2014. He debuted with a hat trick of headers against Saudi Arabia at age 23. He finished with 16 career World Cup goals, which was the record before Messi passed him. Klose also scored in 2006, 2010 and 2014. The two goals he got in 2014 pushed him past Ronaldo Nazário on the all-time list.
Pelé scored at four World Cups for Brazil. He won three of them. In 1958 he scored six goals including a brace in the final as a teenager. He added one in 1962, one in 1966 when Brazil flopped in the group stage, and four more in 1970 including another goal in the final. That’s four tournaments across 12 years.
Uwe Seeler also scored at four World Cups for West Germany. He got two goals in 1958, two in 1962, two in 1966 and three in 1970. He captained West Germany to the final in 1966, where they lost to England. His 21st World Cup appearance in 1970 was a record at the time.
No other player has scored at more than four tournaments. Ronaldo now sits alone at six. And with Portugal still alive in the 2026 knockout rounds, he could add more goals to this particular column. At 41 years old, that’s just ridiculous.
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