The oldest goal scorers in FIFA World Cup history

Cristiano Ronaldo may not have completed his dream of winning the FIFA World Cup this summer, but he did at least come away with three new records in North America.

The Portugal star’s opening goal in the group stage win over Uzbekistan made him the first and only male footballer to score in six editions of the tournament, which is also the joint-highest number of World Cups any player has played in alongside Lionel Messi.

Ronaldo’s equaliser against Croatia in the round of 32 also made him the oldest player to ever score a goal in the knockout stage of the competition at 41 years and 147 days old.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid forward does not, however, hold the World Cup record for the oldest goalscorer. That remains with Cameroon legend Roger Milla, who scored against Russia at USA 94 at 42 years of age.

This summer tournament’s was a showcase of veteran talent, with Messi, Marko Arnautovic and Ivan Perisic all entering the top ten in the list of oldest goal scorers. You can see where each of them now rank below.

Read – The best World Cup records broken in the 2026 knockout stage

The oldest goal scorers in FIFA World Cup history:

1. Roger Milla (Cameroon) – 42 years & 39 days

2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) – 41 years & 147 days

3. Pepe (Portugal) – 39 years & 283 days

4. Lionel Messi (Argentina) – 39 years & 13 days

5. Gunnar Gren (Sweden) – 37 years & 236 days

6. Cuauhtémoc Blanco (Mexico) – 37 years & 151 days

7. Ivan Perisic (Croatia) – 37 years & 150 days

8. Felipe Baloy (Panama) – 37 years & 120 days

9. Marko Arnautovic (Austria) – 37 years & 69 days

10. Obdulio Varela (Uruguay) – 36 years & 279 days

11. Martin Palermo (Argentina) – 36 years & 227 days

12. Georges Bregy (Switzerland) – 36 years & 152 days

13. Ramin Rezaeian (Iran) – 36 years & 97 days

14. Olivier Giroud (France) – 36 years & 71 days

15. Tom Finney (England) – 36 years & 64 days

16. Miroslav Klose (Germany) – 36 years & 29 days

17. John Aldridge (Republic of Ireland) – 35 years 279 days

18. Nils Liedholm (Sweden) – 35 years & 264 days

19. Hassan Al-Haydos (Qatar) – 35 years & 159 days

20. Giovanni van Bronckhorst (Netherlands) – 35 years & 151 days

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