Cristiano Ronaldo overtakes Pepe, becomes Portugal's oldest ever | OneFootball

In Houston, when Qatari referee Abdulrahman Al Jassim kicked off Portugal vs. the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in the first matchday of Group K at World Cup 2026, Ronaldo automatically surpassed Pepe and, at 41 years and 132 days old, became the oldest-ever player for the team of the ‘quinas’.

Pepe had held that record since Euro 2024, when Portugal were eliminated by France in the quarter-finals, bidding farewell to the national team at 41 years and 130 days old.

Portugal’s captain also strengthened his place in World Cup history, becoming the second-oldest outfield player ever to compete in the tournament, behind only the legendary Cameroonian Roger Milla, who was 42 years and 39 days old in 1994, also in the United States.

Ronaldo also joins Messi as the only players in football history to take part in six World Cups. The Argentine made his debut on Tuesday with a hat-trick in the reigning champions’ 3-0 win over Algeria.

With those three goals, Messi, at 38 years and 357 days old, became the oldest player to score three goals in a single World Cup match, taking the record from Ronaldo, who had held it since 2018 at 33 years and 130 days old, when he scored a hat-trick against Spain.

At NRG Stadium, Ronaldo could still reach two more milestones, but to do so he will have to score at least one goal. If that happens, he will also surpass Pepe as the oldest player to score for Portugal at a World Cup and draw level with Eusébio as Portugal’s all-time top scorer in the history of the competition.

At 39 years and 283 days old, Pepe scored in Portugal’s 6-1 thrashing of Switzerland in the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Meanwhile, the ‘king’ Eusébio remains to this day Portugal’s all-time top scorer at World Cups, with nine goals, all scored in 1966 in England, in what remains Portugal’s best-ever campaign, with a third-place finish.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.