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Cristiano Ronaldo has finally found the net in the World Cup knockout stage, and in doing so, he has become the oldest player ever to achieve this feat.

After watching Lionel Messi break the record as the World Cup’s all-time leading scorer, Ronaldo was clearly motivated to make his own mark once again. Having already set the record for scoring in the most World Cup tournaments, he has now added another milestone by becoming the oldest player to score in a World Cup knockout match.

During Portugal’s round of 32 victory over Croatia, Ronaldo surpassed the previous record held by his former teammate Pepe. The record-breaking goal came just fifteen minutes after Ivan Perisic had scored for Croatia, a strike that also placed Perisic among the top five oldest knockout scorers.

Joining Ronaldo and Perisic in this year’s top ten list is Mexico’s Raul Jimenez, who also scored in the round of 32. However, his spot may not last long if Messi adds another goal to his tally — which many fans expect to happen soon.

The list of the oldest World Cup knockout scorers features several familiar names from recent tournaments. Pepe’s 2022 effort and Olivier Giroud’s goal from the same edition are among the most recent entries.

Interestingly, both the oldest scorers in World Cup semi-finals and finals hail from Sweden, dating back to their 1958 campaign when they finished as runners-up. Gunnar Gren, aged 37, scored in the semi-final, while Nils Liedholm, aged 35, found the net in the final.

If either Ronaldo or Messi manage to reach the later stages of the current tournament and score again, they would set a new record in those categories as well.

Below is the list of the ten oldest players to score in World Cup knockout matches:

1. Cristiano Ronaldo – 41 years, 4 months and 28 days (Portugal 2-1 Croatia, 2026 round of 32)

2. Pepe – 39 years, 9 months and 10 days (Portugal 6-1 Switzerland, 2022 round of 16)

3. Gunnar Gren – 37 years, 7 months and 24 days (Sweden 3-1 Germany, 1958 semi-final)

4. Ivan Perisic – 37 years, 5 months and 1 day (Portugal 2-1 Croatia, 2026 round of 32)

5. Obdulio Varela – 36 years, 9 months and 6 days (Uruguay 4-2 England, 1954 quarter-final)

6. Olivier Giroud – 36 years, 2 months and 10 days (England 1-2 France, 2022 quarter-final)

7. Miroslav Klose – 36 years and 29 days (Brazil 1-7 Germany, 2014 semi-final)

8. Nils Liedholm – 35 years, 8 months and 21 days (Brazil 5-2 Sweden, 1958 final)

9. Giovanni van Bronckhorst – 35 years, 5 months and 1 day (Uruguay 2-3 Netherlands, 2010 semi-final)