Cristiano Ronaldo becomes 1st male player to score in 5 World Cups

Cristiano Ronaldo became the first male player to score at five World Cups with a goal for Portugal against Ghana on Thursday.

The 37-year-old striker converted a penalty in the 65th minute to give Portugal a 1-0 lead.

He has now scored in every World Cup since his first in 2006, when he converted a penalty against Iran in the group stage.

Ronaldo scored one goal at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, another at the 2014 tournament in Brazil, and four in Russia in 2018.

“It’s a beautiful moment, in my fifth World Cup. We won, we started off on the right foot, a very important victory,” Ronaldo said of the milestone. “We know that in these competitions winning the first game is crucial. Another record too, the only player to score in five consecutive World Cups, that for me it is a reason of great pride.

“I am very happy for the team to have given an excellent performance. Difficult, but fair win.

“The important thing was that the team won. The [Manchester United] chapter is closed, and the focus is solely and exclusively on the World Cup. As I said, we wanted to start off on the right foot. We won, we played well, I helped the team. Everything else is not important. The important thing is the national team.”