Cristiano Ronaldo becomes first player to score at five World Cups

When it is all said and done, one thing Portugese legend Cristiano Ronaldo will always be remembered for is his longevity. On Thursday, Ronaldo became the first player ever to score at five World Cups when he scored on a penalty kick to open the scoring in a 3-2 over Ghana. Ronaldo’s goal came in the 65th minute.

Ronaldo had one goal in a 2-0 win over Iran at the 2006 World Cup in Germany. At the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, he scored once in a 7-0 win over North Korea. At the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Ronaldo scored the game-winning goal in a 2-1 Portugal win over Ghana. After having only one goal each in his first three World Cups, Ronaldo had all three goals in a 3-3 Portugal tie against Spain at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and then the lone goal in Portugal’s 1-0 win over Morocco.

Ronaldo’s goal against Ghana on Thursday was his eighth goal in World Cup history. In a game that saw all five goals scored in the final 25 minutes, Portugal also got goals from Joao Felix of Atletico Madrid in the 78th minute and Rafael Leao of AC Milan in the 80th minute.

In other Group H action on Thursday, South Korea and Ghana played to a 0-0 tie. In Group G, Brazil beat Serbia 2-0 on two goals by Richarlison, who scored in the 62nd and 73rd minutes. Switzerland meanwhile, got a 1-0 win over Cameroon. Ironically, the other Swiss goal scorer was Cameroon-native Breel Embolo of Monaco, who scored in the 48th minute.