Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed that the 2026 World Cup will be his last appearance on the world stage for Portugal as he hopes to make the tournament in North America a success.
Cristiano Ronaldo in his final World Cup (Image: Getty Images)
Cristiano Ronaldo has confirmed he will play in his final World Cup for Portugal. The 41-year-old is in the twilight of his career and many fans are speculating whether he will challenge for the 2030 edition of world football’s most prestigious competition.
However, the Al Nasr striker admitted that 2026 will be his last appearance on the world stage for his country. Looking ahead to Portugal’s last-16 match against Spain, Ronaldo explained at Sunday’s press conference: “I want to enjoy it as much as possible, because this is my last World Cup, yes. But I hope tomorrow will not be my last World Cup game.”
It was a dark day for soccer fans around the world who had been looking forward to seeing Ronaldo represent his country since his debut in 2003. Since then, Ronaldo has scored 146 goals in 232 appearances for Portugal, making him the most prolific striker in the history of international competition.
Despite some criticism following his slow start to the tournament, Ronaldo broke a long-standing record last month by becoming the first player to score in six different World Cup competitions. The greatest player of all time scored twice against Uzbekistan as Portugal won 5-0 in Group K.
He also reached 10 goals in a World Cup match, surpassing the national record of nine goals set by the late Eusebio in 1966. Ronaldo, 41 years and 138 days old, also moved into second place on the record for the oldest player to find the back of the net in a tournament. Only Cameroon’s Roger Milla, who was 42 years and 39 days old when he scored his last World Cup goal, was better.
Portugal is currently preparing to face Spain in the Round of 16 on Monday, July 6th in Dallas, Texas. The country has never made it to the finals, its best challenge being a third-place finish in 1966.
They lost to eventual tournament winners England, but managed to defeat the then Soviet Union 2-1 in the third-place match at Wembley. Meanwhile, Ronaldo did his best with his home country and landed in Germany in 2006.
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He scored just one goal that time – in a 2-0 win over Iran in the group stage – as Portugal reached the semi-finals, where they suffered a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to France.
In addition, in the third-place deciding match held in Stuttgart, they lost 1-3 to host country Germany, finishing in fourth place overall. Despite winning just about everything else club and international football has to offer, the coveted World Cup trophy is the only thing left on Ronaldo’s proverbial checklist.
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It remains to be seen whether he can finally take home that honor later this month, but Portugal will face stiff competition if they want to go all the way. A victory over Spain would advance them to the quarterfinals, where they would face either tournament co-hosts the United States or Belgium, depending on the results of Tuesday’s fixtures.
Reaching the final will depend on whether Portugal beat France or Morocco in the semi-finals. And waiting on the other side of the draw are Brazil, Norway, Mexico, England, Argentina, Egypt, Switzerland and Colombia, each vying for a place in the final.
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