Cristiano Ronaldo’s first player to score in five World Cups

Portugal captain is also the second oldest man to score in competition's history after Roger Milla

Cristiano Ronaldo has made history as the first man to score in five World Cups when he opened scoring for Portugal in their opening group game against Ghana on Thursday at Doha’s Stadium 974.

The 37 year old scored from the penalty spot on 65 minutes to etch his name in the history of the quadrennial competition.

The Portugal captain has also become the second oldest player to score at the World Cup (37 years, 292 days), behind only Roger Milla in 1994 for Cameroon (42 years, 39 days).

CR7 is now the oldest player to score for a European nation at the World Cup, though, overtaking Sweden’s Gunnar Gren (37 years, 236 days) in 1958.

Ronaldo’s goal is his 118th for Portugal. Interestingly, his first World Cup goal on his debut in 2006 was from the penalty spot in a 2-0 win over Iran.

His next World Cup goal came four years later in South Africa in a 7-0 rout of North Korea. Ronaldo also scored in Portugal’s 2-1 win over Ghana in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

The fromer Manchester United player’s most successful World Cup campaign was in 2018 in Russia where he scored four goals, including a hat trick in a 3-3 draw with Spain.

Ronaldo is now one strike away from equalling the country’s record set in the competition by Portugal legend Eusebio.

Eusebio helped Portugal reach third place at the 1966 World Cup in London where he finished as the top scorer with nine goals.

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