It’s the day after. For millions of his fans, the late-night Round of 16 match (in IST) at the FIFA World Cup was the last time CR7 played in the marquee event.
Cristiano Ronaldo walked off the pitch after his final World Cup match for Portugal with a stoic look on his face and only the slightest hint of emotion. There was a brief wave to acknowledge the cheering fans, and the same feeling he has had after past losses. “Sad – it’s normal after being eliminated like this,” said Ronaldo, who briefly shielded his eyes with his right hand after the match.
The sixth and final World Cup for the 41-year-old superstar ended with a 1-0 loss to border rival Spain in a Round of 16 game on Monday. “I’ve given everything, I’ve given my best, and I leave with a clear conscience,” he said. “This is soccer, this is life for a soccer player. Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.”
Ronaldo, the only player to score goals in six World Cups in a row and the career leader in international goals with 146, said the day before that he hoped it wouldn’t be his final match in this run and wanted to enjoy it to the fullest.
But he reiterated then – and again after the loss to Spain – that this was his last appearance in the tournament, which is played every four years. The furthest he ever went in the World Cup was the semifinals in his 2006 debut.
As for his other future plans, he wasn’t ready to say.
“Yes, it was my last World Cup, but everything else I’ll have time to think about, to be with my family, and not make any decision hot-headed and move on with life,” he said.
Ronaldo was denied a goal in the first half against Spain when record-setting goalkeeper Unai Simon made an impressive leaping stop. That was one of his three shots.
Two of those were on target, including one on which Simon was still in mid-air when he reached back to grab the ball with both hands. Ronaldo got off a backward kick with his right foot after a header by teammate Joao Felix bounced off Simon’s shoulder.
“He is an example, a role model to follow. This is somebody that we need to celebrate. We’re talking about a football icon,” Portugal coach Roberto Martinez said in translated remarks. “There aren’t too many Cristiano Ronaldos out there. I think we need to thank him. His dream was to win the World Cup, and he did this as an amazing example in the locker room.”
Portugal had never won a major international tournament before Ronaldo. The first was the 2016 European Championship, before adding Nations League titles in 2019 and 2025.
Ronaldo’s finale on soccer’s biggest stage came eight years after he recorded a World Cup hat-trick at age 33. That made him the oldest player to score one, and that record stood until then-38-year-old Lionel Messi scored three goals for Argentina in a 3-0 win over Algeria on June 16.
The hat-trick for Ronaldo came in a 3-3 draw with Spain in a group-stage opener that is considered one of the tournament’s best matches, although neither team reached the knockout stage.
He scored three goals in this World Cup, and his 11 overall are tied for ninth on the all-time scoring list.