Cristiano Ronaldo Set To Equal World Record, Will Become Second Footballer To..

Published 3 June 2026 · sports

Cristiano Ronaldo Set To Equal World Record, Will Become Second Footballer To... Published By, Last Updated: June 03, 2026, 20:17 IST Cristiano will enter his

Cristiano Ronaldo Set To Equal World Record, Will Become Second Footballer To... Published By, Last Updated: June 03, 2026, 20:17 IST Cristiano will enter his name in the history books by becoming only the second player to captain his country at five FIFA World Cups. Cristiano Ronaldo set to create history. (Picture Credit: AFP) Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest footballers of all time, and at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is set to begin on June 11, the 41-year-old will enter his name in the history books by becoming only the second player to captain his country at five FIFA World Cups. Ronaldo, who holds the record for the most goals (143) in international football, captained Portugal at the 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022 FIFA World Cups. He has once again been named Portugal’s captain for the 2026 edition. As of now, Rafael Márquez is the only player to have captained his national team at five different FIFA World Cups.

Márquez captained Mexico at the 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cups. His most recent appearance as Mexico’s captain came in the team’s opening match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, when he came on as a substitute in a 1-0 victory over Germany. Across those five World Cup editions, Márquez played 19 matches for Mexico and scored three goals, finding the net once each in 2006, 2010 and 2014. Meanwhile, since making his FIFA World Cup debut in 2006 and helping Portugal finish fourth, Ronaldo has played 22 World Cup matches for his country. He is Portugal’s most-capped player in FIFA World Cup history and has scored eight goals. Most matches for Portugal in FIFA World Cup PLAYER MATCHES WORLD CUPs Cristiano Ronaldo 22 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 Simão 11 2006, 2010 Pepe 11 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022 Luís Figo 10 2002, 2006 Ricardo Carvalho 10 2006, 2010 William Carvalho 10 2014, 2018, 2022 Pauleta 9 2002, 2006 Tiago 9 2006, 2010 Petit 8 2002, 2006 Bernardo Silva 8 2018, 2022 Ronaldo is second on Portugal’s all-time FIFA World Cup goalscoring list.

Only Eusébio, with nine goals, has scored more for Portugal at the tournament. If Ronaldo scores at least two goals at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, he will move to the top of the list. Most goals for Portugal in FIFA World Cup PLAYER GOALS WORLD CUPs Eusébio 9 1966 Cristiano Ronaldo 8 2006 (1), 2010 (1), 2014 (1), 2018 (4), 2022 (1) Pauleta 4 2002 (3), 2006 (1) José Augusto 3 1966 José Torres 3 1966 Gonçalo Ramos 3 2022 Maniche 2 2006 Tiago 2 2010 Bruno Fernandes 2 2022 Pepe 2 2018, 2022 Rafael Leão 2 2022 Ronaldo has scored at least one goal in each of the previous five FIFA World Cups, and he now has the opportunity to become the first player in history to score in six different editions of the tournament. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit About the Author Harshit Bisht Senior Sub-editor Harshit Bisht is a sports journalist with CNN-News18 since July 1, 2024, and covers cricket with a sharp eye for records, trends, and match analysis.