July 29, 2024
Following a somewhat disappointing European Championship, questions about Cristiano Ronaldo's future in the Portuguese National have been raised once again. Will the 39-year old stay active and fit for the next World Cup, in 2026?
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest sportsmen of all time. Regardless of what happens in the remainder of his football career, the Portuguese forward will always be talked about in the same conversation as the best players to grace the pitch. There is one major trophy that has eluded Ronaldo in his career and that is the World Cup. That leads to the question, will Ronaldo be in the Portuguese squad for the 2026 World Cup?
Cristiano Ronaldo - Still the best Portuguese player:
Age catches up with every professional athlete, however hard they work in the gym. Ronaldo is the perfect example of what can be achieved through hard work and dedication. He has looked after himself extremely well and that has allowed him to play professional football at the top level for over 20 years. However, Ronaldo is 39 at the time of writing and when the 2026 World Cup comes around, he will be 41 years old. There are sure to be huge question marks over Ronaldo's ability to play at the top level against players, who even in their early 30’s, will be 10 years younger than him.
There is a chance Ronaldo will not be fit enough to participate if he picks up an injury playing club football but, if he is fit, he is likely to remain available for selection having said he wants to win 250 caps for his country. Could Ronaldo play and score at the 2026 World Cup? If you believe he can, you can use betting sites Canada to find the best odds to back the Portuguese at the tournament.
Ronaldo came in for significant criticism for his level of performance at the 2024 European Championship. Many fans felt he was holding back the Portuguese team but the manager was not willing to drop him from the starting XI as he did not want to upset the player. Gonçalo Ramos hardly got a kick at Euro 2024 despite being one of Portugal's brightest young strikers. By playing in Germany, Ronaldo became the first man to feature in six European Championships but that feat does not take away from the fact he did not play well during the tournament. Portugal reached the quarterfinals of the competition and Ronaldo failed to score a goal.
Despite the negativity surrounding his age and recent performances for Portugal, Ronaldo has the motivation to continue playing football. Having stated his desire to win 250 caps for Portugal, he will need to play in the upcoming World Cup qualifiers and, if he does that, he will want to be selected for the tournament should Portugal qualify. Ronaldo is currently on 212 caps for Portugal, so still needs to play 38 games to reach 250. Perhaps this target has been set with the 2026 World Cup in mind and Ronaldo would become the first player to participate in six World Cups if selected. Only four players have played more games at the World Cup than Ronaldo and if he is available for selection in 2026, it will take a brave man to leave him at home.
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Al Nassr is on August 14, against Al Taawon for the Saudi Super Cup. You can watch Al Taawon vs Al Nassr, Real Madrid vs AC Milan, Manchester City vs Barça, Manchester United vs Betis, Liverpool vs Arsenal and Chelsea vs Club America, all matches provided from our streaming live game pages.
Al Nassr next game:
Al Taawon vs Al Nassr kick-off time (14-08-2024):
Beijing (China) | UTC/GMT+8: 00:15
India (New Delhi) | UTC/GMT+5.30: 21:45
Saudi Arabia (Riyadh) | UTC/GMT+3: 19:15
Spain (Madrid) | UTC/GMT+2: 18:15
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | UTC/GMT+1: 17:15
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | UTC/GMT-3: 13:15
New York (United States) | UTC/GMT-3: 13:15
Los Angeles (United States) | UTC/GMT-6: 10:15
Sources: ronaldo7.net / bleacherreport.com / nytimes.com
