Although Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to find the net in six different World Cups, one particular milestone remains out of reach for both him and Lionel Messi, who turned 39 during the tournament.
Ronaldo opened the scoring against Uzbekistan in Portugal’s second group fixture, becoming the second-oldest goalscorer in the competition’s history at 41 years and 138 days.
Yet the one-time Manchester United and Real Madrid forward still trails legendary Cameroonian Roger Milla in the all-time standings.
Milla first appeared at the 1982 finals in Spain but rose to worldwide prominence at Italia 90, when, aged 38, his four goals helped the Indomitable Lions become the first African team to reach a World Cup quarter-final. He marked his efforts with a celebratory dance by the corner flag, which became his signature move.
Four years later at USA 94, Milla struck from eight yards against Russia, breaking out the corner-flag wiggle once more, though Cameroon lost the match 6-1 and crashed out in the group stage.
Ronaldo can nevertheless take satisfaction from nudging Messi down from third to fourth on that list, after the Argentine forward had scored at the age of 38 years and 363 days in a victory over Austria on 22 June.
Both icons have since improved their personal records: Ronaldo converted a penalty in Portugal’s last-32 win over Croatia before their quarter-final exit against Spain.
Messi, meanwhile, now has eight goals in total at these finals after subsequently scoring against Jordan, Cape Verde and Egypt.
Croatia forward Ivan Perisic and Austria’s Marko Arnautovic, both 37, also broke into the top ten during this tournament.
Perisic’s strike against Portugal on 3 July lifted him to seventh on the all-time list, pushing Arnautovic down to ninth after his effort against Algeria in Austria’s final group outing.
Still, Milla’s record looks set to endure for quite some time – unless, of course, Ronaldo or Messi fancy the idea of playing on home soil when the 2030 World Cup stages matches in both Portugal and Argentina.
You wouldn’t bet against it, would you?
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