Man Utd replacement among shock nine with more World Cup knockout goals than Cristiano Ronaldo | OneFootball

Cristiano Ronaldo has fewer knockout goals than World Cup icons Matthew Upson, Wout Weghorst and Zanka…

Ronaldo’s record in the knockout phase is… not good. The Portugal superstar is yet to score in seven appearances beyond the group stage.

Kylian Mbappe has eight goals in knockout rounds, the joint-highest scorer with Ronaldo (the other one) and Brazil’s Leonidas, who won the Golden Boot in 1938.

To highlight further Ronaldo’s ropey record, 19 players have five or more goals, including Lionel Messi, who is currently on five goals in 12 knockout games.

The list of players with more knockout goals than Ronaldo also includes less illustrious names. These lads all have at least one goal more when it really matters at World Cups since Ronaldo’s first tournament in 2006…

Matthew Upson

The former England defender scored both his international goals in separate games against Germany, the second coming at the 2010 World Cup finals against Manuel Neuer to finish as the Three Lions’ joint-top scorer in South Africa.

Which sounds a lot grander if you ignore the context of England’s 4-1 gubbing at the hands of the Germans, and the defensive shocker Upson endured around the header to give England a smidgen of hope.

Sulley Muntari

The ex-Pompey midfielder scored his knockout goal – in 2010 against Uruguay – from the kind of range even Ronaldo might think twice about shooting from. Before deciding to shoot anyway.

Muntari’s goal has largely been forgotten because of the Luis Suarez handball unpleasantness that came after. And he was fortunate to stick around long enough to play and score in the knockout phase after narrowly escaping being sent home after ripping into his coach and team-mates in the wake of a 1-1 draw with Australia in the group stage.

Benjamin Pavard

The France defender’s strike in the 4-3 thriller to knockout Messi’s Argentina in 2018 was probably one of the finest goals ever scored in a knockout phase, and certainly one of the most satisfying…

Zanka

Huddersfield Town’s only World Cup goalscorer went one better than Ronaldo in 2018 when he scored in the first minute of Denmark’s round-of-16 clash with Croatia.

It went downhill from there for the Danes, though, with Croatia quickly equalising before reaching the quarter-finals on penalties.

Marouane Fellaini

Like Zanka, Ronaldo exited the 2018 World Cup at the last-16 stage, but Man Utd cult hero Fellaini kept Belgium in the tournament by powering in a bullet header against Japan.

It was Belgium’s second goal to level at 2-2 having been 2-0 down, either side of strikes from Jan Vertonghen and Nacer Chadli, the ex-Spurs players also ahead of Ronaldo in the knockout goals stakes.

Harry Maguire

There were reports of a rift between Ronaldo and Maguire when the pair played together at Manchester United, the Portugal star clearly jealous of Maguire’s knockout goal in 2018.

Ronaldo was already home when Maguire’s magnetic bonce put England ahead in the quarter-final against Sweden.

Kieran Tripper

Ronaldo has precisely the same number of free-kick goals at World Cups as ex-England full-back Trippier; both scored in Russia in 2018.

But Ronaldo’s came in the group stage, while Trippier’s was scored in a semi-final against Croatia. We have no recollection of what came after. Still too sad.

Jordan Henderson

Ronaldo scored the same number of goals in the 2022 World Cup as England’s goodest egg – exactly one.

Ronaldo’s was a penalty in the first group game; Henderson’s was the opener in a last-16 victory against Senegal. And he almost certainly puts on a better quiz night.

Wout Weghorst

Man Utd were laughed at for replacing Ronaldo with Weghorst in 2023, but the Netherlands striker has two goals in the World Cup knockout stage to the Portugal icon’s zero.

Ronaldo will have cheered Weghorst’s brace in the 2022 Battle of Lusail, including a brilliant 101st-minute equaliser, and presumably egged on the giant striker when he rattled Messi all the way to the post-match interviews.