World Cup 2026: Who are the oldest scorers in World Cup history?

Cristiano Ronaldo may have scored in a record sixth FIFA World Cup, but there is a piece of history that still eludes both him and Lionel Messi, who celebrated his 39th birthday on Wednesday.

When Ronaldo broke the deadlock against Uzbekistan in Portugal’s second group match, he became the second-oldest scorer in tournament history, finding the back of the net at the ripe old age of 41 years and 138 days.

However, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star is still ahead of Cameroon great Roger Miller on the all-time list.

Milla first appeared in the 1982 finals in Spain but rose to global fame at the age of 38, scoring four goals as the indomitable Lions reached the quarter-finals at Italia 90 – the first African team to reach that far – marking his efforts with a dance with the corner flag, which became his trademark.

Four years later, Milla got back on the scoresheet in USA 94, slotting in from eight yards against Russia. The corner flag came back again, but Cameroon crashed out of the group stage with a 6-1 loss.

However, Ronaldo will no doubt take some pride in the fact that he demoted Messi from third to fourth on the list after the Argentina forward turned 38 years and 363 days old in his side’s win over Austria.

Bosnia-Herzegovina striker Edin Dzeko or Croatia midfielder Luka Modric could both outshine the 40-year-old Messi.

Japan centre-back Yuto Nagamoto is also nine months older than the Argentina legend but has yet to feature.

Or can an experienced goalkeeper turn himself into an unlikely hero? Six others – including Germany’s Manuel Neuer, Cape Verde’s Vozinha and Uruguay’s Fernando Muslera – were older than Messi – but no defender had ever scored in 22 editions of the World Cup until 1930.

Austria’s Marko Arnautovic, 37, broke into the tournament’s top 10 thanks to his late penalty in the win over Jordan.

But Miller’s record looks set to stand for some time, unless, Ronaldo or Messi like the idea of ​​playing on home soil at the 2030 World Cup when both Portugal and Argentina host games.

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