Cristiano Ronaldo may have scored at a record sixth Fifa World Cup, but there is one piece of history which still eludes both him and Lionel Messi, who celebrated his 39th birthday on Wednesday.
When Ronaldo broke the deadlock against Uzbekistan in Portugal’s second group match he became the second-oldest scorer in the history of the tournament, finding the back of the net at the ripe old age of 41 years and 138 days.
But the former Manchester United and Real Madrid man still sits behind Cameroon great Roger Milla on the all-time list.
Milla first featured at the 1982 finals in Spain but found global fame aged 38 with four goals as the Indomitable Lions reached the quarter-finals at Italia 90 – the first African team to make it that far – marking his efforts with a dance by the corner flag which became his trademark.
Four years later, Milla was back on the scoresheet at USA 94, slotting in from eight yards against Russia. The corner flag wiggle was back again, but Cameroon lost the game 6-1 and went out at the group stage.
However, Ronaldo will no doubt take some pride in the fact he bumped Messi down from third to fourth on the list after the Argentina forward had netted aged 38 years and 363 days in his side’s win over Austria.
Messi could also be overtaken by Bosnia-Herzegovina striker Edin Dzeko or Croatia midfielder Luka Modric, both 40, should either bag a goal.
Japan centre-back Yuto Nagamoto is also nine months older than the Argentine legend but is yet to make an appearance.
Or could a veteran goalkeeper turn themselves into an unlikely hero? Six are older than Messi, including Germany’s Manuel Neuer, Cape Verde’s Vozinha and Uruguay’s Fernando Muslera – but no keeper has ever scored in 22 editions of the World Cup stretching back to 1930.
Austria’s Marko Arnautovic, 37, has entered the top 10 at this tournament thanks to his late penalty in the win over Jordan.
But Milla’s record looks set to stand for some time unless, that is, Ronaldo or Messi fancy the idea of playing on home soil when the 2030 World Cup hosts games in both Portugal and Argentina.
You wouldn’t rule it out, right?
