Portuguese national team forward Cristiano Ronaldo continues to rewrite football history. In the opening match of the group stage of the 2026 World Cup against the Democratic Republic of Congo, the legendary forward set a new record for the World Cups, and the match itself ended in a hard-fought draw. This is reported by TSN.
Ronaldo becomes the oldest outfield player in World Cup history
The match between Portugal and the DRC took place on June 17 as part of the opening round of the World Cup 2026 group stage.
Having stepped onto the field from the first minutes, Cristiano Ronaldo set a new historical record in world championships.
At the time of the match, the Portuguese player was 41 years and 132 days old. This is the oldest age among all outfield footballers who have ever started a World Cup match in the starting lineup.
Thus, Ronaldo surpassed previous achievements that stood for many years.
The Portuguese matched another Messi record
In addition to the new age record, Ronaldo also equaled Lionel Messi in another historic statistic.
The match against the DRC national team became his sixth in World Cups.
Previously, only Argentine forward Lionel Messi achieved a similar result.
Thus, the Portuguese and the Argentine became the first footballers in history to participate in six different World Cups.
What is special about the 2026 World Cup
The 2026 World Cup is held in three countries – the USA, Canada, and Mexico.
This is the first tournament in history with 48 national teams participating. Previously, starting from 1998, 32 teams competed in the World Cups.
The new format includes 12 groups of four teams. The top two teams from each group and the eight best teams that finished in third place advance to the playoffs.
In Portugal's group, there are also teams from Colombia and Uzbekistan, who are fighting for a spot in the playoff stage.