Inside Cristiano Ronaldo’s unprecedented 10-game goal drought for Portugal
A record sixth tournament brings more scrutiny for Cristiano Ronaldo as his World Cup scoring drought stretches deeper than ever.
Cristiano Ronaldo has pretty much had things all his own way in the Premier League, the Champions League, LaLiga, and Serie A at different points over the years. The World Cup, though, has proven to be a different matter entirely.
Since the Al Nassr attacker made his senior breakthrough, Portugal have become mainstays in soccer’s biggest international tournament, something that was not always the case. The World Cup, though, remains the one major team trophy Ronaldo desperately wants to get his hands on before the end of his career, which will presumably be sometime soon.
The former Real Madrid superstar is taking part in his record-equaling sixth World Cup in 2026 and is looking to improve on what is a modest goalscoring record by his own standards.
No knockout breakthrough since debut
In his five previous tournaments, Ronaldo has played 22 games and scored only eight goals, all of which have come in the group stage. He has failed to find the net in eight knockout-stage matches since making his World Cup debut in 2006.
Things have not started any better this year. With questions already being asked about whether a 41-year-old Ronaldo is a hindrance rather than a help to a supremely talented Portugal squad, he struggled to make an impact in their opening game of the 2026 World Cup, a surprise 1-1 draw against DR Congo.
That was the most recent of 10 games in which he has failed to score for his country in major tournaments, a statistic you would not usually expect from a player built for the big occasion.
The numbers behind the drought
Ronaldo’s last major tournament goal for Portugal came on Nov. 24, 2022, when he scored the opener from the penalty spot in a 3-2 win over Ghana in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup. His last goal from open play came almost five years ago in a 4-2 defeat to Germany in a Euro 2020 group game, played in 2021.
Ronaldo’s last 10 matches in major tournaments:
- June 17, 2026: World Cup vs DR Congo, 90 minutes, 0 goals
- July 1, 2024: Euro 2024 vs Slovenia, 120 minutes, 0 goals
- July 5, 2024: Euro 2024 vs France, 120 minutes, 0 goals
- June 26, 2024: Euro 2024 vs Georgia, 66 minutes, 0 goals
- June 22, 2024: Euro 2024 vs Türkiye, 90 minutes, 0 goals
- June 18, 2024: Euro 2024 vs Czechia, 90 minutes, 0 goals
- Dec. 10, 2022: World Cup vs Morocco, 39 minutes, 0 goals
- Dec. 6, 2022: World Cup vs Switzerland, 16 minutes, 0 goals
- Dec. 2, 2022: World Cup vs South Korea, 65 minutes, 0 goals
- Nov. 28, 2022: World Cup vs Uruguay, 82 minutes, 0 goals
Not including added time, Ronaldo has now gone 778 minutes without scoring for Portugal in major tournament play, during which he has had 33 shots on goal, 11 of them on target, per Opta.
Can he finally end it when Portugal face Uzbekistan in their second group game of the 2026 World Cup? Many are asking whether he should he even get the chance.
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