Cristiano Ronaldo becomes oldest player to win a FIFA World Cup Man of the Match

Cristiano Ronaldo was named FIFA World Cup Player of the Match after Portugal’s 2-1 Round of 32 win over Croatia in Toronto on July 2, according to FIFA’s official match report and tournament award tracker. FIFA’s Player of the Match page lists Ronaldo as the winner for the Toronto game, which Portugal won with a 68th-minute penalty from Ronaldo and a 90+4 winner from Goncalo Ramos. FIFA’s match report said Ronaldo’s goal was his first in the knockout stages of a World Cup. The Portugal captain was 41 years and 147 days old on the date of the match, based on his February 5, 1985 birth date listed by FIFA. ### Which match put Ronaldo into this spot? Portugal played Croatia in the Round of 32 at Toronto Stadium on July 2, and FIFA recorded a 2-1 Portugal win. Ivan Perisic gave Croatia the lead in the 53rd minute before Ronaldo equalized from the penalty spot in the 68th and Ramos scored in stoppage time. (fifa.com) FIFA’s Player of the Match site lists Cristiano Ronaldo as the winner for that game. The same page presents the award as a match-by-match fan vote used to determine the player recognized after each fixture. ### How old was Ronaldo when he got the award? Cristiano Ronaldo was 41 years and 147 days old on July 2, 2026. That age follows directly from FIFA’s listing of his date of birth as February 5, 1985 and FIFA’s match centre date for Portugal-Croatia as July 2, 2026. (fifa.com) (play.fifa.com) FIFA had already highlighted Ronaldo’s age during the tournament in other records coverage. In a June 23 article, FIFA said he was 41 years and 138 days old when he became the second-oldest player to score in World Cup history, and in another tournament article it said he would be 41 years and 126 days old when the competition began. Those FIFA age markers are consistent with him being 41 years and 147 days old for the Croatia match. (fifa.com) ### Did FIFA explicitly call this an age record for Player of the Match? FIFA’s available official pages confirm that Ronaldo won the Player of the Match award against Croatia and confirm his age on the date of the match, but the pages reviewed do not separately publish a dedicated FIFA article stating he set the all-time oldest Player of the Match mark. (fifa.com) The record claim is therefore an inference from FIFA’s official match award listing and Ronaldo’s age, rather than wording that FIFA itself used in the pages reviewed. FIFA’s own match report did, however, explicitly note a related age milestone: it said Ronaldo became the oldest player to score in the knockout stages of a World Cup, ahead of fellow Portugal defender Pepe. (play.fifa.com) ### What exactly did Ronaldo do in the game? Ronaldo scored Portugal’s equalizer from the penalty spot after a VAR review led to the award of a penalty for a foul on Renato Veiga, FIFA said. The report said Ronaldo had also seen an earlier finish ruled out for offside before converting from the spot for what FIFA called his 11th World Cup goal. (fifa.com) FIFA’s match report described the game as a comeback win and said Portugal advanced to face Spain next. The report also called Ronaldo’s goal his first in the knockout stages of the World Cup. ### Where can readers verify the award themselves? FIFA’s Player of the Match page lists past winners by date, stadium and fixture, including “Cristiano Ronaldo” for Portugal’s 2-1 win over Croatia at Toronto Stadium on July 2. (fifa.com) FIFA’s match report and match centre for the same game carry the scoreline, scorers and stage details. FIFA’s tournament fixtures page says the World Cup runs through July 19, 2026, and its Player of the Match tracker says it will be updated after every game. (fifa.com 1) (fifa.com 2) (play.fifa.com)