Harry Kane, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé had already delivered memorable performances at the FIFA World Cup 2026. On Thursday, Cristiano Ronaldo added another milestone to his legendary career.

Portugal's captain converted a penalty against Croatia to score his first-ever goal in the knockout stage of a FIFA World Cup.

The strike also took his official career tally to 976 goals, bringing him even closer to the historic 1,000-goal milestone.

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Cristiano ends one of the last missing chapters of his career

Cristiano Ronaldo had already established himself as one of the World Cup's all-time leading scorers, but every one of his previous goals had come during the group stage.

His penalty against Croatia became his 11th World Cup goal and his first in a knockout match, adding yet another record to his remarkable résumé.

The goal came just hours after his sister's emotional message

The moment carried extra significance because it came only hours after comments made by Katia Aveiro, Cristiano Ronaldo's sister.

Ahead of Portugal's match against Croatia, she revealed that, based on the information she has, the 2026 FIFA World Cup is expected to be Cristiano's "last dance" with the Portuguese national team, making a Euro 2028 appearance highly unlikely.

Cristiano answered those comments in the best possible way—by finding the net and writing another chapter in his extraordinary international career.

Closing in on 1,000 career goals

With his strike against Croatia, Cristiano Ronaldo reached 976 official career goals.

At 41 years old, the Portuguese superstar continues chasing one of football's most extraordinary milestones while remaining Portugal's biggest attacking threat at the FIFA World Cup 2026.

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