Al Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo warmps up before a Saudi Pro League match against Al Hilal at King Fahd Sports City Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday. (AFP-Yonhap) At 41, Cristiano Ronaldo realistically gets only one more shot at a World Cup trophy to cap an already illustrious career. A five-time Ballon d’Or winner, Ronaldo has more international goals than any other men’s player, with 143 in 226 matches for Portugal.
He was slowed by a hamstring injury earlier this year with his club team, Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, and did not play for Portugal in a friendly against the United States in Atlanta on April 1.
Should he be named to the World Cup squad — and there’s no reason to believe he won’t unless he’s injured — Ronaldo will play on American soil for the first time since a 2014 preseason friendly with Real Madrid against Manchester United in Michigan.
Ronaldo, along with his great rival Lionel Messi of Argentina, could become the first men to play in six World Cups. Ronaldo told CNN in November that this one “definitely” would be his last World Cup.
Portugal is considered the top team in Group K, which includes Colombia, Uzbekistan and Congo.
While Portugal is ranked No. 5, the team got a wake-up call in qualification with a 2-0 loss to Ireland last November, notable because Ronaldo was sent off with a red card for elbowing a defender. He was banned for the next game — Portugal rebounded with a 9-1 victory over Armenia to seal its World Cup spot — but escaped more severe punishment .
This will be Portugal’s ninth World Cup. The team finished in third in 1966 and fourth in 2006 — when Ronaldo made his World Cup debut. In the 2022 edition, Portugal reached the quarterfinals, only to be upset by Morocco 1-0. Ronaldo came in as a substitute in the 51st minute.
Roberto Martinez has been coach since 2023. The team is loaded with talent, including Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes and versatile young midfielder João Neves, who plays for Paris Saint-Germain.
The team was rocked last year by the death of Diogo Jota , killed in a car crash shortly after Portugal won the Nations League final.
Portugal opens against Congo on June 17 in Houston. (AP)
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