Player Story: Ronaldo — six World Cups, zero regrets, one thing still missing

He's 41. He plays club football in Saudi Arabia. He hasn't lifted a major trophy with Portugal. And yet, two days before the 2026 World Cup kicks off, Cristiano Ronaldo is going to walk out in front of a crowd at Houston's NRG Stadium on June 17 — and he'll be the most watched player on the pitch. 1

That's the thing about Ronaldo. Logic stopped applying to him years ago.

When Roberto Martínez named Portugal's squad on May 19, Ronaldo became the first man in football history to qualify for six World Cups. 1 He shares the six-tournament mark with no one. Messi, who will also be at this tournament, stopped at five.

At 41 years and counting, Ronaldo holds 226 international caps — a men's record — and has scored 143 goals for Portugal, another record that may never be broken. 2 He is the only man to have scored at five consecutive World Cups. His eight tournament goals, however, carry an asterisk that has haunted him since 2006: every single one came in the group stage. In knockout football, across five tries, the count is zero. 3

The knock against him has never been the numbers. It's been the moments. And at 41, in what he's called his last shot at this, he needs one.

For once, the team Ronaldo is bringing to a World Cup looks genuinely equipped. Portugal landed in Group K — probably the kindest draw they could have asked for. DR Congo and Uzbekistan, both first-time qualifiers, make up two of three group opponents. The third is Colombia, ranked 13th in the world and no pushover, but hardly a nightmare final game. 4

The midfield behind Ronaldo is the best Portugal has ever assembled. Bruno Fernandes set a Premier League record this season with 21 assists, and was the top chance-creator in the entire division. 3 Vitinha — once considered a failed Manchester City experiment — won the Champions League final MVP award with PSG in 2026 and finished third in the Ballon d'Or. At 24, he's the metronome the team has never had. João Neves, still just 21, gives Portugal an energy and pressing intensity in central midfield that previous tournaments lacked. 4

Rúben Dias anchors the defense. Diogo Costa is one of the better goalkeepers in this tournament. Nuno Mendes on the left and João Cancelo on the right give Martínez overlapping options down both flanks.

The honest read on Portugal in this tournament: they have a clear path to the quarterfinals and the talent to go further. They're the team where the squad's ceiling finally matches the expectations.

Martínez named 27 players, then added one more — except the "+1" can't play.

Diogo Jota, Liverpool's forward and one of Portugal's most important players over the past three years, died last July in a car accident at 28. When Martínez read out his squad list, he paused before the final name. "The spirit, the strength, the example of Diogo Jota — the plus one. He will be the plus one forever." 1

If Portugal advance as group winners, the Round of 16 falls on July 1 — one year to the day after Jota's death. The squad knows it. The country knows it. Martínez is banking on it meaning something in the dressing room when the pressure builds.

Ronaldo has said this is his final World Cup. He said the same before 2022, and then retracted it, so some skepticism is warranted. But even Martínez — diplomatically — didn't close the door on a 2030 appearance when Portugal co-hosts. 3

What's different now is the arithmetic. Ronaldo turns 42 in February 2027. His performances in Saudi Arabia have drawn more scrutiny than admiration in recent seasons. At the 2022 World Cup, he scored once, came off the bench in the knockout stages after clashes with manager Fernando Santos, and left in tears after a quarterfinal defeat to Morocco. At Euro 2024, he started five games and scored zero. 4

Martínez is navigating this carefully. He's made clear Ronaldo has earned his place on form and leadership — "the same demands as the other players" — while also building a squad deep enough that no single position is sacred. The real question in Portugal's tournament isn't whether Ronaldo will play. It's whether the team can protect his minutes in a way that keeps him fresh when it actually counts. The 2026 summer heat in Texas and Florida is not ideal for a 41-year-old playing his third group game in ten days.

The irony is that, right now, the players around Ronaldo are better than they've ever been at a World Cup. If Portugal go deep, it won't be because of him. But it will feel like it is, because it always does.