In 22 FIFA World Cup games, Cristiano Ronaldo has scored eight goals, including a hat trick against Spain in 2018. One look at the statistics demonstrates why Portuguese legend Cristiano Ronaldo is widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time. Cristiano Ronaldo is the only man to have scored more than 800 goals for club and country and has won the Ballon d’Or five times. He also has the most goals in men’s international football.
Additionally, Cristiano Ronaldo led Portugal to victory in the UEFA Nations League in 2018-19 and the UEFA European Championship in 2016. However, Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal failed to win the FIFA World Cup, and the superstar hasn’t always been at his best in the main event. In his 22 appearances at the FIFA World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo has scored eight goals in each of the following editions: 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022.
In fact, Cristiano Ronaldo scored in Portugal’s opening match against Ghana at the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar to become the first man to score in five World Cups. Ronaldo is only one goal behind the legendary Eusebio, who has scored nine goals in FIFA World Cups and is Portugal’s top World Cup goal scorer. Let’s take a look at how Cristiano Ronaldo has scored goals at FIFA World Cups thus far.
2006 marked the World Cup debut of Cristiano Ronaldo
Under the legendary Luis Figo’s captaincy, a young Cristiano Ronaldo, already regarded as a world-class football talent, was selected for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Putting on the No. Ronaldo donned the number 17 shirt in his FIFA World Cup debut against Angola. In the 26th minute, he received a yellow card and was sent off after an hour. Cristiano Ronaldo’s most memorable FIFA World Cup objective came in the following match against Iran. In the 80th minute. He converted a penalty kick to give Portugal a 2-0 victory.
At 21 years and 132 days, it made Ronaldo the youngest Portuguese player to score in a FIFA World Cup match. Cristiano Ronaldo did not play in Portugal’s final group match against Mexico, and in the round of 16 in a tight 1-0 win over the Netherlands, he had to be replaced early. Portugal and England drew 0-0 in the quarterfinals, and Ronaldo scored the winning penalty to advance Portugal to the semifinals. Portugal finished fourth after losing to France and Germany, and Cristiano Ronaldo scored just one goal in his first FIFA World Cup game.
In 2010, the ship’s captain
Cristiano Ronaldo was signed to Real Madrid, his dream team, and had won the Ballon d’Or and the UEFA Champions League by the time the next FIFA World Cup came around in four years. In addition, he received the No. 7 jersey and Luis Figo as captain of Portugal. However, Portugal only scored in one of their four matches, a 7-0 victory over North Korea, in which Cristiano Ronaldo scored a scrappy sixth goal and assisted on another. After losing 1-0 to Spain, the eventual champions, Portugal was eliminated.
The campaign is stalled by injury in 2014
With his scintillating hat trick in Portugal’s 3-2 qualifier victory over Sweden, Cristiano Ronaldo ensured the country’s participation in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. However, the star player from Portugal suffered an injury prior to the World Cup and was not in top physical condition when he played. Portugal suffered, as a result, falling 4-0 to Germany in their first match and drawing 2-2 to the United States in their second, with Cristiano Ronaldo contributing to the equalizer. Portugal defeated Ghana 2-1 in their final group match, but Ronaldo’s late goal was insufficient to advance past the group stage.
2018’s hat trick hero
Cristiano Ronaldo’s performance in Portugal’s opening match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup against Spain ranks among his best. After Diego Costa equalized, Ronaldo gave his team the lead with a penalty kick in the fourth minute and scored again before halftime to make it 2-1. However, Spain took a 3-2 lead thanks to quick goals from Diego Costa and Nacho Fernandez.
In the 88th minute, with the game on the line, Cristiano Ronaldo lined up a free kick and shot around the wall to complete a brilliant hat trick and earn Portugal a point. It made Cristiano Ronaldo the oldest player in FIFA World Cup history to score a hat trick. Cristiano Ronaldo proceeded to score the victory in a 1-0 win over Morocco and played in the 1-1 draw with Iran. Portugal reached the round of 16 but fell to Uruguay 2-1.
Ronaldo scores the only goal of the FIFA World Cup 2022
When Portugal defeated Ghana 3-2 in their opening match of the FIFA World Cup 2022, Cristiano Ronaldo became the first male football player to score in five World Cups. It made Ronaldo, who is 37 years old, one of the World Cup’s oldest goal-scorers. At Qatar 2022, it also turned out to be his only goal.
In the subsequent two games, Ronaldo was substituted. For the first time since 2008, he did not make the starting XI against Switzerland in a major tournament. Portugal’s campaign came to an end against Morocco in the quarterfinals, where Ronaldo only appeared as a late substitute. In the FIFA World Cup, Cristiano Ronaldo scored eight goals and provided two assists, all in the group stage.
The goals that he scored at the FIFA World Cup
- Iran Germany 2006 Group Stage
- North Korea South Africa 2010 Group Stage
- Ghana Brazil 2014 Group Stage
- Spain Russia 2018 Group Stage
- Spain Russia 2018 Group Stage
- Spain Russia 2018 Group Stage
- Morocco Russia 2018 Group Stage
- Ghana Qatar 2022 Group Stage