"Wrapping up all this last World Cup with Cristiano winning it would be something amazing." That's Bruno Fernandes, speaking to the BBC in April 2026 — and those words carry real weight, because Ronaldo is actually going to be there to try.
Cristiano Ronaldo, 41 years old, knee issues and all, has been named in Robert Martinez's final 26-man Portugal squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Six tournaments. Six. No men's player in history has ever appeared in that many.
Lionel Messi is chasing the same milestone. If both see the field in North America this summer, they'll share that record too — one final footnote in a rivalry that's defined two decades of the sport.
Knee problems, but still in the squad
The fitness question is real. Ronaldo missed stretches of this season with both Portugal and club side Al-Nassr due to knee problems, and at his age there's no guarantee that resolves cleanly over a tournament's duration. Martinez picked him anyway, and that's a calculated risk — not just a sentimental gesture.
Whether Ronaldo starts games or functions as a super-sub role player in the knockout rounds is something Martinez will have to manage carefully. Portugal have the attacking depth to absorb that flexibility. But if Ronaldo's knee flares again mid-tournament, that calculation changes fast, and Portugal's attacking odds shift with it.
Group K, and what comes after
Portugal land in Group K alongside DR Congo, Uzbekistan and Colombia. Advancement isn't seriously in doubt. The real test starts in the knockouts, where Ronaldo's presence — or lack of it — matters most.
His best World Cup finish remains the 2006 semifinal run in his debut tournament. Twenty years later, he's still searching for the one trophy that's never come. Portugal have never won it either.
Fernandes framed it as something for football itself, not just Portugal. "Everything Cristiano gave to football and the world" — that's the emotional logic driving this squad. Whether emotion is enough to win a World Cup is a different question entirely.
