World Cup 2026: Why Cristiano Ronaldo may need the tournament of his life to lift Portugal

Cristiano Ronaldo is a Portugal icon and one of the best soccer players ever. He may also be an anchor on the team's chances of winning the 2026 World Cup . As Portugal opens its World Cup campaign on Wednesday against DR Congo, Ronaldo is set to become just the second player to play in six different World Cups after Lionel Messi became the first on Tuesday night against Algeria. On one hand, it's a fitting achievement for Ronaldo's career. He and Messi have been endlessly compared throughout their careers before Messi and Argentina's 2022 World Cup win effectively ended any and all debate about who was better. On the other, Messi, at 38, is still the fulcrum of Argentina's attack and the focal point of the team. Portugal could be even better without Ronaldo on the field. The 41-year-old is still a capable striker, but he's not the player he once was. He doesn't press all that often, and doesn't have the blazing speed he once did. Sure, he's still capable of a magical moment, but he's also been plying his trade in the Saudi Arabian Pro League for the past four seasons after his second tenure at Manchester United went south in 2022. Can a player in his fifth decade who plays in a middling domestic league really be a difference-maker at a World Cup? Portugal sure hopes so. When Ronaldo played in his first World Cup at the age of 21, he started all six matches on the wing and scored the clinching penalty kick against England in the quarterfinals as Portugal finished fourth. Cristiano Ronaldo has eight goals in 22 World Cup games for Portugal. Carlos Rodrigues via Getty Images But since he's become the focal point of the Portugal attack, the country has failed to make it out of the group stage twice and hasn't gotten past the quarterfinals again in the other two tournaments. Those failures aren't all on Ronaldo. Portugal can be faulted in many recent World Cups for playing too conservatively. In 2018, he scored four goals in the group stage before the Portuguese lost to Uruguay in the Round of 16. However, Ronaldo is, somehow, still searching for his first goal outside of a group stage game. In 22 World Cup games, Ronaldo has eight goals. All eight have come before the knockout rounds. His lone World Cup assist came in the group stage too. Messi, meanwhile, has six World Cup assists. Yes, the two play different positions — Messi is much more of an attacking midfield playmaker while Ronaldo is a true forward — but the disparity in that stat is also telling. Ronaldo is a player who hardly ever passes up the chance at a goal. That's obvious in his domination of Portugal's free kicks and penalty kicks, even as his free kick success rate has cratered. He's scored just one goal from a direct free kick in a major tournament. That came in that 2018 World Cup. Recently, Ronaldo has started to share free kick duties. Bruno Fernandes, the reigning English Premier League Player of the Season, is a free kick specialist himself. And he's also assumed the crown of Portugal's most dangerous attacker. Fernandes, 31, will play a role similar to Messi's as an attacking midfielder for Portugal. Across 35 EPL games in 2025-26, Fernandes scored nine goals and set the league record with 21 assists. He's a master at incisive through balls, whether it's to his Manchester United teammates, Ronaldo, or any of his other incredibly talented national team teammates. Will Fernandes take a larger role on set pieces than Ronaldo at the World Cup? We'll see. He's also far from the only star in midfield for Portugal, either. The country may have the best midfield of anyone at the tournament with Bernado Silva, Vitinha and João Neves. The defense is incredibly solid too, as Ruben Días and Gonçalo Inácio occupy the middle with Joáo Cancelo and Diogo Dalot on the flanks. There's also not a clear alternative to Ronaldo, either. Even if you think that Ronaldo is now better-suited to a role off the bench as a sub who can run around for 30 minutes and be on the field in case the game goes to penalty kicks, there's not a central attacker who is a surefire option ahead of Ronaldo. Sure, his status as Portugal's greatest player ever is helping to keep him on the field. But there's no one pushing him off the pitch, either. If Ronaldo wasn't going to start up front, Gonçalo Ramos would be the most obvious option to take his place. But Ramos scored just 12 goals across 15 starts and 45 appearances for PSG in 2025-26. If he was closer to the form he showed in 2024-25, when he had 18 goals across 40 appearances, there might be more of a debate. Instead, this World Cup — again — is going to be all about Ronaldo for Portugal. If he's going to climb the mountain Messi summited four years ago, he may have to play the best tournament of his life.