Cristiano Ronaldo's sixth World Cup: After being criticized for being old, he kicked the coffin lid open.

First game against DR Congo, 1-1. Cristiano Ronaldo invisible throughout. "Time to retire" comments flooded social media all night long.

Three days later, Portugal beat Uzbekistan 5-0. He scored in the 6th minute and again in the 39th minute. At 41, he pushed his total World Cup goals into double digits. The same people who had been typing retirement messages three days ago were now lining up to apologize. Public opinion flips faster than he can sprint back on defense.

2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026. Six World Cups, scoring in every single one. First in history.

From 21 to 41, over two decades, the Portuguese locker room changed its leadership three times. He was still the one wearing No. 7, taking the opening kickoff from the center circle. In 2010 against North Korea in South Africa, a 7-0 massacre, he made it 7-0 with a goal in the 87th minute. That was his only goal of the entire tournament. In 2014, Portugal didn't get out of the group stage. In 2018, they went home in the round of 16. In 2022, they stopped in the quarterfinals. He scored in every edition, but came up just short every time.

Eusébio scored 9 goals in a single World Cup in England in 1966. The Portuguese revered him as a god for sixty years. He only played in that one edition, six games, with a 16-team format. Ronaldo took six editions, 24 games, grinding out his 10th goal in the meat grinder of an expanded tournament, pulling Eusébio down from Portugal's all-time World Cup scoring throne. Six games, 9 goals. Twenty-four games, 10 goals. One was lightning, the other a workhorse. In terms of efficiency, Eusébio will always top Ronaldo. But Eusébio never had the chance to prove he could sustain his prime for twenty years. That hard labor was Ronaldo's alone.

On June 28 against Colombia, Ronaldo made his 25th World Cup appearance, tying Lothar Matthäus. Only Lionel Messi, with 29 games, is ahead of him. He also pocketed the title of the second-oldest scorer in World Cup history — only Cameroon's Roger Milla, who scored against Russia in 1994 at 42 years and 39 days old, is older. Ronaldo, born in February 1985, is now 41, still a ways off from that mark.

By now, his record collection is enough to fill an entire wall of honors. But the knockout stage statistics don't lie.

Six World Cups, 25 games, 10 goals. Goals in the knockout stage: zero.

2006: Semifinals. 2010: Round of 16. 2014: Group stage exit. 2018: Round of 16. 2022: Quarterfinals. He had knockout matches in four of those tournaments. He didn't score in any of them. The real currency of the World Cup is only cashed in the knockout rounds. Goals in the group stage are just an entry ticket.

His personal milestones cover an entire wall. The door he wants most is still firmly shut.

B費 posted a photo after the game with the caption, "Just the two of us." His 4th assist in the World Cup, his 27th for the national team, both precisely fed to this 41-year-old captain. Ronaldo's mother, Dolores, said in an official FIFA video: "I am very proud. My son is still playing for Portugal, still scoring."

A mother's pride won't fill the bank account of zero knockout goals.

Portugal finished second in Group K. July 3rd, Toronto, Round of 32. Opponent: Croatia.