Oldest World Cup knockout stage scorers as Ronaldo breaks old team-mate’s record

Cristiano Ronaldo finally got his first World Cup knockout stage goal in 2026 and it made him the oldest player to ever do so.

Probably reeling from seeing Lionel Messi break the big record as the World Cup’s all-time top scorer, Ronaldo just wasn’t able to let go. First he set the record for scoring in the most World Cup tournaments and then he became the oldest ever scorer of a goal in the World Cup knockout stage.

During Portugal’s win over Croatia in the round of 32, he broke the record that was held by one of his former teammates, Pepe, a quarter of an hour after Ivan Perisic scored a goal that also put him into the top five.

Ronaldo and Perisic have since been joined in the top 10 oldest World Cup knockout scorers from another entrant from this year: Messi. Shock horror.

There are in fact plenty of familiar names from recent tournaments in the top 10. As well as Pepe, Olivier Giroud scored at the last World Cup before this one.

Interestingly, the oldest scorers in World Cup semi-finals and finals are both Swedes, from their run to being runners up in 1958.

Gunnar Gren was 37 when he scored in the semis and Nils Liedholm was 35 when he scored in the final.

Messi didn’t manage to become the oldest World Cup semi-final scorer in Argentina’s win over England, but will be hoping to become the oldest World Cup final scorer against Spain.

Here are the 10 oldest scorers in World Cup knockout matches.

Oldest scorers in World Cup knockout games

1. Cristiano Ronaldo – 41 years, 4 months and 28 days (Portugal 2-1 Croatia, 2026 round of 32)

2. Pepe – 39 years, 9 months and 10 days (Portugal 6-1 Switzerland, 2022 round of 16)

3. Lionel Messi – 39 years and 13 days (Argentina 3-2 Egypt, 2026 round of 16)

4. Gunnar Gren – 37 years, 7 months and 24 days (Sweden 3-1 Germany, 1958 semi-final)

5. Ivan Perisic – 37 years, 5 months and 1 day (Portugal 2-1 Croatia, 2026 round of 32)

6. Obdulio Varela – 36 years, 9 months and 6 days (Uruguay 4-2 England, 1954 quarter-final)

7. Olivier Giroud – 36 years, 2 months and 10 days (England 1-2 France, 2022 quarter-final)

8. Miroslav Klose – 36 years and 29 days (Brazil 1-7 Germany, 2014 semi-final)

9. Nils Liedholm – 35 years, 8 months and 21 days (Brazil 5-2 Sweden, 1958 final)

10. Giovanni van Bronckhorst – 35 years, 5 months and 1 day (Uruguay 2-3 Netherlands, 2010 semi-final)

READ MORE: Comparing Lionel Messi & Cristiano Ronaldo’s all-time World Cup stats

TRY A QUIZ: Can you name every player to score 3+ goals at the 2026 World Cup?