Ronaldo ends knockout goal drought in style

Cristiano Ronaldo has scored for fun at World Cups over the years, but one landmark had eluded him — a goal in the knockout stages. That wait finally ended in Toronto, where the Portuguese talisman converted a crucial penalty against Croatia to fire his side into the Round of 16.

The Round of 32 tie fell on a poignant date for Portugal, marking the first anniversary of the death of former teammate Diogo Jota. Playing with his memory close to heart, Ronaldo's side dominated possession and territory in the first half but could not find a breakthrough. Croatia then struck through Ivan Perisic in the 53rd minute, plunging Portugal into danger of an early exit.

It was the captain who responded. In the 68th minute, Renato Veiga was fouled inside the box, and after a VAR review confirmed the penalty, Ronaldo stepped up. The 41-year-old showed nerveless composure from the spot to beat the goalkeeper and level the score.

Moments earlier, Ronaldo thought he had put the ball in the net from open play, only for the assistant referee's offside flag to rule out the effort. That disappointment, however, did not linger — the equalising penalty reignited Portugal's belief and lifted the entire team's performance.

As the match edged toward stoppage time, Goncalo Ramos struck the winner in added time to put Portugal ahead. Croatia thought they had responded in the dying moments, but that effort too was chalked off for offside following a VAR check, sealing a dramatic 2-1 win that sent Portugal through to the last 16.

Ronaldo had already made history before kickoff. At 41 years and 147 days, he became the oldest outfield player ever to start a World Cup knockout match. His former Real Madrid teammate and Croatia captain, Luka Modric, moved into second on that list at 40 years and 296 days.

The appearance was also Ronaldo's 26th at a World Cup, moving him past German great Lothar Matthaus into second place on the all-time World Cup appearances list — behind only Lionel Messi.

Ronaldo had already made headlines earlier in the tournament with a brace against Uzbekistan, becoming the first player in football history to score in six different World Cup editions. With Thursday's penalty, he has now closed one of the last remaining gaps in an already storied World Cup career.