Lisbon: Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo, the all-time leading goalscorer for his national team and a five-time Ballon d'Or winner, played his final World Cup match, APA reports. Portugal lost 1-0 to Spain in the Round of 16.

According to Azeri-Press News Agency, Ronaldo has participated in 27 World Cup games, ranking second in the tournament's history for appearances, behind only Argentine forward Lionel Messi, who has 30. Ronaldo scored 11 goals throughout his World Cup career, with only one goal in the playoffs during the 2026 World Cup Round of 32 against Croatia, which ended 2-1.

On the eve of the match against Spain, Ronaldo announced that this World Cup would be the last of his career. His best result in the tournament was achieving fourth place in 2006. Earlier, Ronaldo's sister mentioned that he would retire from the national team after the World Cup, but Ronaldo later refuted this, stating that no decision has been made regarding his continuation with the national team.