Cristiano Ronaldo completes final FIFA World Cup run: career stats, goals and best moments revealed

Cristiano Ronaldo has played his final FIFA World Cup match, closing the curtain on his tournament career with a detailed review of his goals, assists and best performances in football’s biggest event.

What happened in Ronaldo’s World Cup run?

Cristiano Ronaldo played his last FIFA World Cup game on 10 December 2022 in Qatar, ending a 16-year streak that began in Germany in 2006. He scored one goal in the 2022 edition, his eighth World Cup goal overall, and led Portugal to the quarter-finals. The forward finished his World Cup career with eight goals and three assists across five tournaments, a record matched only by a handful of legends.

How do his World Cup stats stack up?

Ronaldo’s World Cup goals came against Iran, North Korea, Ghana, Australia, Sweden, Morocco, Uruguay and Switzerland. His best single-tournament haul was three goals in 2018, when Portugal reached the Round of 16. He also provided three assists, including the winner for Bruno Fernandes against Belgium in 2022. Ronaldo’s eight goals put him level with Eusébio for the most by a Portuguese player in World Cup history.

What were his standout performances?

His most celebrated World Cup moment came on 21 June 2006, when he scored twice against Iran in Germany, becoming the youngest player to score in four different World Cups at 21 years old. In 2018, he captained Portugal to a 1-0 win over Morocco with a late header, his 88th-minute goal sealing a nervy victory. And in 2022, he set up Fernandes’s winner against Belgium, proving his playmaking still mattered even in his late 30s.

What does this mean for Ronaldo’s legacy?

The final World Cup appearance caps a career that saw Ronaldo score in every major tournament he entered. His eight goals trail only Miroslav Klose’s 16 and Ronaldo’s rival Lionel Messi’s nine in World Cup history. Yet his longevity, leadership and sheer volume of appearances-22 games across five tournaments-cement his place among football’s all-time greats. The curtain falls, but the numbers remain.