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Ronaldo becomes 1st man to score at 5 different World Cups

Clive Brunskill / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Cristiano Ronaldo fired home a penalty during Portugal's 3-2 group win over Ghana on Thursday to become the first male player to score at five separate World Cups.

Lionel Messi, Pele, Miroslav Klose, and Uwe Seeler scored at four different World Cups.

Brazilian star Marta and Canadian legend Christine Sinclair have each scored in five separate editions of the Women's World Cup.

Ronaldo's first World Cup goal arrived at the age of 21 when, wearing the No. 17 jersey, he buried a penalty against Iran to help Portugal log a 2-0 victory at the 2006 World Cup.

His latest goal was also a spot-kick. The 37-year-old picked up the ball after he was felled in the area by Mohammed Salisu and thumped an unstoppable penalty past Lawrence Ati-Zigi.

Ronaldo's eight World Cup goals

World Cup Opponent Stage
2006 Iran Group stage
2010 North Korea Group stage
2014 Ghana Group stage
2018 Spain Group stage
2018 Spain Group stage
2018 Spain Group stage
2018 Morocco Group stage
2022 Ghana Group stage

With his second strike against Ghana, Ronaldo improved his record to 118 goals in men's international football. He won Euro 2016 with Portugal but is on the hunt for his first World Cup triumph.

The all-time top scorer in men's World Cups is Germany's Klose with 16 goals over 24 appearances.

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