Cristiano Ronaldo is all set to start in Portugal's round of 32 World Cup tie against Croatia.
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid forward became the first-ever to player to score at six different World Cups when he found the net against Uzbekistan earlier in the tournament, but despite holding that record, Ronaldo is yet to get off the mark in the knockout rounds.
Portugal have advanced beyond the groups on four occasions with the five-time Ballon d'Or winner involved, but have failed to go beyond the last eight since losing out to France in 2006 semi-finals.
We take a closer look at Ronaldo's record in the knockout stages of the World Cup...
Ronaldo has featured in 25 World Cup matches, scoring 10 goals. This makes him the joint-11th top goalscorer in World Cup history alongside the likes of Thomas Muller, Gabriel Batistuta and Gary Lineker.
Despite that, Ronaldo has failed to hit the back of the net in any of his seven appearances in the knockout stages of the tournament.
2006 is by far Portugal's best showing at a World Cup with Ronaldo in the side, reaching the semi-finals with a run that saw them defeat the Netherlands and England before exiting to eventual runners-up France.
Four years later, Portugal crashed out in the round of 16 against Spain and even failed to make it out of their group after a disastrous three matches in 2014.
Following a group stage hat-trick against Spain in 2018, Ronaldo looked better placed than ever to end his knockout hoodoo once and for all, however, another tame showing against Uruguay saw yet another World Cup pass him by.
2022 looked to be Ronaldo's final stab at World Cup glory but it again ended in failure.
Fernando Santos opted to drop his country's all-time top goalscorer from the starting lineup for last 16 and last eight matches versus Switzerland and Morocco respectively.
Reduced to a role off the bench, Ronaldo could do little to prevent Portugal's disappointing quarter-final exit.
Cristiano Ronaldo's knockout record at the World Cup
Games | Minutes played | Goals |
7 | 455 | 0 |
*Statistics correct as of 02/07/2026.
