The debate over who is the greatest footballer of the current era—Argentina’s Lionel Messi or Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo—continues endlessly. Both possess massive fan followings and are counted among the world’s greatest footballers. On Tuesday, June 23, during the second match of Group K at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Ronaldo set another major record, surpassing a mark previously held by Messi.

By scoring two goals in the match against Uzbekistan, Ronaldo set the record for being the oldest player in World Cup history to score a brace (two goals in a single match). He also became the first player in the world to score two goals in a World Cup match after crossing the age of 40. Ronaldo is the only player to have scored in six different editions of the FIFA World Cup. He scored his first goal against Uzbekistan in the sixth minute and followed up with a second goal in the 39th minute, doubling his team’s lead.

On June 23, 2026, Ronaldo was 41 years and 138 days old, making him the oldest player to score two goals in a World Cup match. Prior to this, the record was held by Lionel Messi, who had scored two goals for Argentina just a day earlier—on June 22, 2026—in a Group J match against Austria at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. At that time, Messi was 38 years and 363 days old. Following Ronaldo and Messi on the list of the oldest players to score a brace in FIFA World Cup history is Cameroon’s Roger Milla, who scored two goals against Colombia in the 1990 World Cup at the age of 38 years and 34 days.

Thanks to these two goals against Uzbekistan, Ronaldo also broke the record for the most World Cup goals scored for Portugal. Ronaldo has scored 10 goals in 24 World Cup matches so far. Previously, this record was held by Eusébio, who scored a total of nine goals for Portugal in the 1966 World Cup. Had Ronaldo scored one more goal against Uzbekistan, he would have become the oldest player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup match. Currently, this record is held by Lionel Messi; Messi scored a hat-trick against Algeria on June 16, 2026, at the age of 38 years and 357 days.