For two decades and six FIFA World Cups, Cristiano Ronaldo chased the one ghost he could never catch.
On Monday afternoon, Spain finally broke Ronaldo’s pursuit. Spain eliminated Portugal in the round of 16 and ensured that Ronaldo will leave the international pitch with a permanent vacancy in his trophy cabinet.
Ronaldo is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in football history, but the one prize missing from his resume is a World Cup title. After Lionel Messi won it in 2022, the pressure only intensified.
But the 41-year-old star failed to even get back to the semifinals after reaching that stage in his first World Cup appearance in 2006. Portugal was eliminated in the round of 16 in 2010 before getting knocked out in group play in 2014. Portugal has made it to the knockout stage in each of the last three World Cups. However, Ronaldo only made it past the round of 16 once in that stretch, reaching the quarterfinals in 2018.
Ronaldo was able to get one monkey off his back in this tournament, though. He scored in Portugal’s win over Croatia in the round of 32, which marked his first goal in the knockout stage of the World Cup. He scored three goals at this year’s World Cup, and 11 goals over 27 career World Cup matches.
Portugal vs Spain Extended Highlights 🌎🏆 2026 FIFA World Cup™ | Round of 16
Even without that final piece of silverware, Ronaldo’s impact on World Cup history is bulletproof. He bowed out as the first men’s player to score in six different World Cups, and at 41, became the oldest goalscorer the tournament has ever seen.
The trophy might be missing from his cabinet, but very few outside of Messi, Pelé and now Ronaldo have ever left a bigger footprint on football’s grandest stage.
