Cristiano Ronaldo and the best players who never won the World Cup
A look at Cristiano Ronaldo's on-stage life and a list of futbol legends who didn't win the biggest trophy — proving that the World Cup isn't the only measure of a legendary career.
Humble in speech but brilliant in deed, Cristiano Ronaldo once said: “I don't follow records — records follow me.” The statement is not wrong. Ronaldo has the most goals in UEFA Champions League history (140) and the most international goals (143). He won five Ballon d'Ors — more than any other European — and lifted 35 major trophies in more than 1,300 senior appearances over 24 years.
But — so far — he still hasn't won a World Cup.
He turned 41 this February and the upcoming Mundial 2026 will be his sixth appearance on the biggest stage for Portugal — possibly the last. At the time of writing, Portugal are fifth in the FIFA rankings, and have a team full of experience and talent that should in theory cruise through their group against DR Congo, Uzbekistan and Colombia.
But can Portugal really go all the way? In the last two major tournaments they lost in the quarter-finals: at the World Cup 2022 in Qatar they lost to Morocco 1-0 with Ronaldo coming on as a second-year substitute; and at Euro 2024 in Germany which also ended in the quarter-finals where they lost to France in a penalty shootout — Ronaldo scored his penalty. In qualifying for this Mondial, Portugal topped their UEFA group that included the Republic of Ireland, Hungary and Armenia — including a 9-1 demolition of the final qualifier. Ronaldo didn't play in that group, but Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, João Neves and Vitinha all starred.
Arguably one of Ronaldo's closest chances was at Germany 2006, when he was just 21 and Portugal lost in the semi-final to a penalty awarded by Zinedine Zidane against France. In Europe, Portugal won Euro 2016, their only major trophy in modern times — and that was a huge achievement with Ronaldo at the peak of his form as 'CR7'.
In four World Cups since Germany 2006, Ronaldo has experienced a mix of personal and collective disappointment.
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South Africa 2010: Portugal played four matches (three in the group and one in the knock-out), and scored in just one game. This resulted in 0-0 against Ivory Coast, 0-0 against Brazil and 7-0 against North Korea — with Ronaldo named man of the match in all three aforementioned games. In the last 16, they lost 1-0 to Spain in Cape Town.
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Brazil 2014: Portugal faced Germany in their first match and the Portuguese lost 4-0 — Germany were the champions. They drew 2-2 with the United States and won 2-1 against Ghana in the last game with a last-minute goal from Ronaldo, but they finished third in the group on goal difference and missed the knock-outs.
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Russia 2018: The first game was memorable as Ronaldo scored a hat-trick in a thrilling 3-3 draw against Spain in Sochi. Next game, he scored the only goal against Morocco; a 1-1 draw against Iran ended the group. In the last 16 they lost 2-1 to Uruguay.
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Qatar 2022: Aged 37 and having just rejoined Manchester United, Ronaldo started his fifth World Cup finals by scoring a penalty against Ghana — becoming the first player to score in five consecutive World Cups. He is also the second oldest player to score in the World Cup after Roger Milla (42 in 1994). Portugal lost to Morocco after they beat Switzerland 6-1 in the last 16 (Ronaldo sat on the bench until the second half of the game) — and it gave them huge hopes before crashing out at the last minute against Morocco.
After the elimination in Qatar, Ronaldo wrote to his 600 million followers on Instagram: "Winning the World Cup for Portugal is the biggest and most ambitious dream of my career... I fought for it. I fought all the way. In the five times I've been at World Cups in 16 years, I've always been next to great players and supported by millions of Portuguese — I gave everything. I didn't shake my head in the fight and I didn't give up on the dream that.”
He left Qatar for club football in Saudi Arabia and continued playing for Portugal. He may no longer be a regular starter, but coach Roberto Martínez is unlikely to introduce him for a possible 229th cap — a world record, according to the record.
Overall, only four men — Ronaldo, Lothar Matthäus, Rafael Márquez and Lionel Messi — have played in five World Cups. Messi has won the World Cup; Ronaldo, in the view of many, may not have the chance to change that. But as Ronaldo said in the conversation with Piers Morgan last November: he does not believe that the trophy will print his name in history. He admitted that he still wants to win, but he doesn't consider it an "obsession."
And an entire career should not be viewed as a failure just because of the absence of the World Cup. Many legends of the game are also without this trophy: Alfredo Di Stéfano, Johan Cruyff, Paolo Maldini and Eusebio — all among the great players who failed to lift the World Cup.
Eusebio, for example, came close in 1966: he scored two goals against Brazil at Goodison Park and contributed four goals in a stunning comeback against North Korea (who had a 3-0 lead but lost 5-3 after his four goals). Portugal lost in the semi-final to England at Wembley, 2-1. Cruyff was part of the memorable Nederlandse team of 1974 that lost in the final to West Germany 2-1 after taking the lead in the first two minutes. Other names who contributed a lot to football but did not win the World Cup are Ferenc Puskás, Laszlo Kubala and others.
There are cases of bad luck and fate too — Michel Platini, Michael Ballack (who was suspended for the 2002 final) and Rafael Márquez (five straight World Cups but never reaching the quarter-finals) are some examples. Demography and population size are also factors: George Best and George Weah have played for small nations, while Uruguay and Croatia are proof that even small nations can rise to the World Cup.
As Ronaldo reaches the final stages of his national career, it remains true that whatever happens in New Jersey on July 19 — there will be yet another losing finalist — and that is unlikely to diminish the legend of his achievements. The list of great players who did not win the World Cup proves: a great career is not measured by just one trophy.
