FIFA World Cup 2026 :Canada/Mexico/United States: Discussion Thread

[martinom]

Cristiano Ronaldo already achieved everything in his career, just FIFA world cup will make his career to be always remembered and things will be on another level with this success because this is always dreamed for any big player like Pele, Maradona, Messi and now Ronaldo is in that list.

In upcoming event, they have balanced squad with their opponents are also going to be tough still things are looking much favourable for them, they need to overcome and have their best game, most chances European teams will be dominating and have good chance of keeping things on their own way. Argentina, Spain and France are their biggest rivals with England is always best without have any good chance, but it's also going to be interesting can Ronaldo go for this in his last attempt.

He will give it his all to try and win the world championship and it certainly won't be an easy thing, like every great player he will give it, his all, but i don't think he's less complete than many other champions if he doesn't win the world cup..

[KTChampions]

CR7's time is clearly over, and his current form is no more than just playing, and is no longer capable of taking the team to the highest level. So the Portuguese national team needs to rely on younger players who are more realistic about performing better. Meanwhile, CR7 can be a leader and motivator for the team, which is very helpful for the team to perform at its best. But if CR7 suddenly performs better, I wouldn't be surprised, because maybe this last World Cup really motivated him and rekindled his fighting spirit, who knows.

If you take the very top level, then yes, but if you take the level below (or the level of half the teams that only got to the World Cup thanks to FIFA gifts), then Ronaldo is still in business. Well, in certain elements of the game, for example heading and choosing a position, he is probably still second to no one. Nobody is saying that he can single-handedly lead Portugal to the title (that doesn't work in modern football at all), but in decisive moments he can turn everything in Portugal's favor.

[pusaka]

CR7's time is clearly over, and his current form is no more than just playing, and is no longer capable of taking the team to the highest level. So the Portuguese national team needs to rely on younger players who are more realistic about performing better. Meanwhile, CR7 can be a leader and motivator for the team, which is very helpful for the team to perform at its best. But if CR7 suddenly performs better, I wouldn't be surprised, because maybe this last World Cup really motivated him and rekindled his fighting spirit, who knows.

If you take the very top level, then yes, but if you take the level below (or the level of half the teams that only got to the World Cup thanks to FIFA gifts), then Ronaldo is still in business. Well, in certain elements of the game, for example heading and choosing a position, he is probably still second to no one. Nobody is saying that he can single-handedly lead Portugal to the title (that doesn't work in modern football at all), but in decisive moments he can turn everything in Portugal's favor.

I don't agree with saying Ronaldo's era is over, because after all he contributed to his country being at the 2026 World Cup, but if you compare it to his youth then it's true that what he can do now is not as big as when he was younger.

He can still be an influential figure in the team, especially on the mentality of the players on the pitch. I think that's what Portugal needs right now. This is another thing that can be seen from Ronaldo besides his performance and for me it is still good.

[8rch7]

I don't agree with saying Ronaldo's era is over, because after all he contributed to his country being at the 2026 World Cup, but if you compare it to his youth then it's true that what he can do now is not as big as when he was younger.

He can still be an influential figure in the team, especially on the mentality of the players on the pitch. I think that's what Portugal needs right now. This is another thing that can be seen from Ronaldo besides his performance and for me it is still good.

I have the same opinion with you, many Lionel Messi fans or Cristiano Ronaldo hater saying thr era of Ronaldo have been over without seeing current performance with his club Al Nassr. Cristiano Ronaldo have good physical as top profesional player although have been over 40 years. In this season keep consistent scoring goals with Al Nassr and has challenge to break 1000 goal in his careef before this season end.
Portugal national team head coach Roberto Martínez already saying about Cristiano Ronaldo is important player and will get place at the squad team for World Cup 2026, I want to see Ronaldo bring Portugal winning World Cup 2026 and answering the hater about his career over.

[Rabata]

Cristiano Ronaldo already achieved everything in his career, just FIFA world cup will make his career to be always remembered and things will be on another level with this success because this is always dreamed for any big player like Pele, Maradona, Messi and now Ronaldo is in that list.

In upcoming event, they have balanced squad with their opponents are also going to be tough still things are looking much favourable for them, they need to overcome and have their best game, most chances European teams will be dominating and have good chance of keeping things on their own way. Argentina, Spain and France are their biggest rivals with England is always best without have any good chance, but it's also going to be interesting can Ronaldo go for this in his last attempt.

He will give it his all to try and win the world championship and it certainly won't be an easy thing, like every great player he will give it, his all, but i don't think he's less complete than many other champions if he doesn't win the world cup..

He will try his best and many will support Portugal only because of him. When there are such expectations, it has a huge impact on the players. They have to handle a lot of pressure mentally. There were similar expectations about Messi last season but he showed it in the end. Portugal's squad is good but they have to perform like that on the World Cup stage. If the players have the determination to take the team forward without Ronaldo, then if Ronaldo can give his best, then of course there is good expectation for the team. I think there is opportunity. It cannot be denied that Portugal's squad is still balanced and also said that no team is weak on the World Cup stage, so fulfilling the dream won't be easy.

[Fuso.hp]

Cristiano Ronaldo keeps downplaying Portugal's chances for the World Cup. But honestly, I think they have the best squad out there really. Just look at the three key guys who literally carried their team to the Champions League trophy recently. they're all in this lineup.
To me, it's just a massive ego trip. He’s already making excuses so he can blame the weak squad if they get knocked out. He’s basically just covering his own back.

There is no point in looking down on the Portugal team, on the contrary, I am putting Portugal ahead of the best teams in Europe because the way Portugal players are currently performing in various clubs, Portugal will be able to form a great team for the World Cup. I am a Brazil supporter, but in this World Cup, I would really like Cristiano Ronaldo's team to win the World Cup and I will also support Portugal. This is Cristiano Ronaldo's last World Cup and if his dream of winning the World Cup in the last World Cup comes true, then Cristiano Ronaldo can retire from football considering himself successful for Portugal. I hope that Portugal, with the combination of every player in the team, will do something good in this World Cup.

[Sithara007]

Realistically, the only thing Ronaldo still wants is to reach the milestone of 1,000 goals scored in official matches and to enter football immortality. To achieve that, he will probably still have to play another season in Saudi Arabia since he is currently around 950 goals, last time I checked. It's unlikely that anyone will ever reach this record again.

As far as I know, Ronaldo under contract terms need to participate in the next (2026-27) season of the Saudi Professional League as well. If he is unable to reach the milestone of 1000 goals this season, then it will be achieved by next year. Honestly, I don't think that it is on top of his mind right now. His first priority would be to win the trophy in Saudi Professional League for Al Nassr, followed by a good performance for Portugal during the FIFA World Cup of 2026. The record of 1,000 goals will come to him naturally and he may not need to focus too much on it.

[Sarah Azhari]

Cristiano Ronaldo already achieved everything in his career, just FIFA world cup will make his career to be always remembered and things will be on another level with this success because this is always dreamed for any big player like Pele, Maradona, Messi and now Ronaldo is in that list.

The upcoming World Cup will be Cristiano Ronaldo's last World Cup considering his age and Cristiano Ronaldo really hopes to win the World Cup so he can be considered one of the best players of all time. I hope Ronaldo can win the World Cup trophy because if he wins it, his name as the best player of all time will continue to be remembered and even surpass names like Pele, Maradona and Messi because Ronaldo has the potential to score 1000 goals in his career which will make him the only player capable of scoring that many goals in history.

[Ale88]

Yes, I remember that he didn't play every single match, but this time is different: he is going to be 41 years old, Ronaldo knows this is going to be is last competition ever with the Portuguese national team because after the World Cup there will be the qualifications for Euro 2028, and it wouldn't make any sense for the manager to call a player that would be 43 years old when the actual tournament would take place. So this World Cup is really his last dance. There will be a huge pressure for him and for the manager too because people could complain no matter the decision: if they lose with Ronaldo then it's Ronaldo's fault; if they lose without Ronaldo then it's the manager's fault. It's a tricky situation.

LOL.. you are talking about Ronaldo playing till 2028?

Would you be surprised? The Saudi league level is quite low, he keeps scoring and that is the perfect environment for him to keep scoring. He's always been obsessed with records, that is the reason he is still playing. Well, besides the money of course. But he doesn't care about winning a trophy in Saudi Arabia, it's all about his numbers. And, as I was saying, considering the average level of the Saudi league even a 45-year old Ronaldo could keep scoring over there.

[GbitG]

Everything you said makes total sense but the real question is: does Cristiano Ronaldo understand (and think) the same as you? Because I totally agree with you but, in my opinion, he still sees himself as one of the best players in the world and, no matter what, he must be in Portugal's line up for every single match. He has kind of overbearing presence, especially now that in Saudi Arabia he is treated like a god. Portugal have one of their best teams in history right now, I really hope for them that Ronaldo will understand that this is about a whole country, not himself.

I'm sorry, but the debate whether good or not to bench ronaldo is totally non sense thing. Ronaldo has ever benched by Martinez during euro 2024 warm up. It's happened when Portugal faced croatia. It means he knows everyone in the squad is being treated the same. There's no superiority owned by the old player.

Martinez has also ever explained the decision to bench him to build a game time management. An old player like him also needs proper time management to ensure they won't miss him due to the injury.

Yes, I remember that he didn't play every single match, but this time is different: he is going to be 41 years old, Ronaldo knows this is going to be is last competition ever with the Portuguese national team because after the World Cup there will be the qualifications for Euro 2028, and it wouldn't make any sense for the manager to call a player that would be 43 years old when the actual tournament would take place. So this World Cup is really his last dance. There will be a huge pressure for him and for the manager too because people could complain no matter the decision: if they lose with Ronaldo then it's Ronaldo's fault; if they lose without Ronaldo then it's the manager's fault. It's a tricky situation.

This is the criteria of the world; like every time when success comes, they will appreciate the whole, but when failure comes, they will blame singly the top player. Like if we look at the Messi example when he failed to win the 2018 world. Everyone was blaming him and criticizing him for not wining the World Cup, although in the entire World Cup he had much better performance than other player but still they criticized him singly rather than blaming the whole Argentina team.....

So similarly, it's the last dance for the Cristiano Ronaldo, and everyone is expecting it. If he wins, then probably it would be big achievement for CR7 but he failed definitely criticism will be hearing loudly form public....

Anyway let's see what happens?

[Ale88]

Yes, I remember that he didn't play every single match, but this time is different: he is going to be 41 years old, Ronaldo knows this is going to be is last competition ever with the Portuguese national team because after the World Cup there will be the qualifications for Euro 2028, and it wouldn't make any sense for the manager to call a player that would be 43 years old when the actual tournament would take place. So this World Cup is really his last dance. There will be a huge pressure for him and for the manager too because people could complain no matter the decision: if they lose with Ronaldo then it's Ronaldo's fault; if they lose without Ronaldo then it's the manager's fault. It's a tricky situation.

This is the criteria of the world; like every time when success comes, they will appreciate the whole, but when failure comes, they will blame singly the top player. Like if we look at the Messi example when he failed to win the 2018 world. Everyone was blaming him and criticizing him for not wining the World Cup, although in the entire World Cup he had much better performance than other player but still they criticized him singly rather than blaming the whole Argentina team.....

So similarly, it's the last dance for the Cristiano Ronaldo, and everyone is expecting it. If he wins, then probably it would be big achievement for CR7 but he failed definitely criticism will be hearing loudly form public....

Anyway let's see what happens?

Yes, but it works that way only with big players like Ronaldo, Messi, and few others. If Portugal or Argentina get eliminated people and journalists would make a lot of noise if those players are involved but very little noise if they are complaining about Gonçalo Ramos or Lautaro Martinez, just to make an example.

I disagree about the possible criticism in case Ronaldo doesn't win the WC: we are talking about a 40+ years old player, any football fan with a brain would not expect him to win. If it happens, well, it's going to be incredible, but I would never blame him because at 41 years old he didn't win the most difficult competition of the world.

[beerlover]

Would you be surprised? The Saudi league level is quite low, he keeps scoring and that is the perfect environment for him to keep scoring. He's always been obsessed with records, that is the reason he is still playing. Well, besides the money of course. But he doesn't care about winning a trophy in Saudi Arabia, it's all about his numbers. And, as I was saying, considering the average level of the Saudi league even a 45-year old Ronaldo could keep scoring over there.

He wants to score 1000 goals, and he can't do that in Europe, unless he plays until 50 years old, so he prefers to get a lot of money and easy goals at Saudi league. At national league, he can play against smaller weaker teams and still keep scoring, which is perfect for him.

But when it comes to world cup levels of playing, we have seen in the last 2022 one and we will see on this one that Ronaldo is not at a level where he can play against real defenders. He will fail to score, he will fail to even make a difference, and he may even get benched like he was last time after he failed. So, there is a serious possibility that we may not see Ronaldo score more than 2 goals, depending on their group, I haven't checked it to be fair, but they will not be great, he will not be great.

[pusaka]

I don't agree with saying Ronaldo's era is over, because after all he contributed to his country being at the 2026 World Cup, but if you compare it to his youth then it's true that what he can do now is not as big as when he was younger.

He can still be an influential figure in the team, especially on the mentality of the players on the pitch. I think that's what Portugal needs right now. This is another thing that can be seen from Ronaldo besides his performance and for me it is still good.

I have the same opinion with you, many Lionel Messi fans or Cristiano Ronaldo hater saying thr era of Ronaldo have been over without seeing current performance with his club Al Nassr. Cristiano Ronaldo have good physical as top profesional player although have been over 40 years. In this season keep consistent scoring goals with Al Nassr and has challenge to break 1000 goal in his careef before this season end.
Portugal national team head coach Roberto Martínez already saying about Cristiano Ronaldo is important player and will get place at the squad team for World Cup 2026, I want to see Ronaldo bring Portugal winning World Cup 2026 and answering the hater about his career over.

I'm not positioning myself as a fan and I'm not positioning myself as a hater, I'm just speaking from a football lover's point of view. So what I say is purely my objective assessment of this player.

I have to praise him for his hard work, but if he insists on always being the first choice then I will also criticize him, because let it be the job of the coach who judges based on the needs of the team. And when the Portuguese coach says that (as you did), it means we have the same assessment. And that's actually more valid because the coach knows the needs of his team better.

[banana33]

Yes, but it works that way only with big players like Ronaldo, Messi, and few others. If Portugal or Argentina get eliminated people and journalists would make a lot of noise if those players are involved but very little noise if they are complaining about Gonçalo Ramos or Lautaro Martinez, just to make an example.

I disagree about the possible criticism in case Ronaldo doesn't win the WC: we are talking about a 40+ years old player, any football fan with a brain would not expect him to win. If it happens, well, it's going to be incredible, but I would never blame him because at 41 years old he didn't win the most difficult competition of the world.

Journalists wait for this, it's their job, they make money on the news and the more the news makes waves the better chance of making money.
Of course, it is also true that Ronaldo, even if he is his age, achieves better performances than a player 20 years younger, his training is always very tough.
But criticizing if he can't win well that's really an exaggeration, in any case i hope it gives us a show, football is above all that!

[Daniel91]

Would you be surprised? The Saudi league level is quite low, he keeps scoring and that is the perfect environment for him to keep scoring. He's always been obsessed with records, that is the reason he is still playing. Well, besides the money of course. But he doesn't care about winning a trophy in Saudi Arabia, it's all about his numbers. And, as I was saying, considering the average level of the Saudi league even a 45-year old Ronaldo could keep scoring over there.

He wants to score 1000 goals, and he can't do that in Europe, unless he plays until 50 years old, so he prefers to get a lot of money and easy goals at Saudi league. At national league, he can play against smaller weaker teams and still keep scoring, which is perfect for him.

But when it comes to world cup levels of playing, we have seen in the last 2022 one and we will see on this one that Ronaldo is not at a level where he can play against real defenders. He will fail to score, he will fail to even make a difference, and he may even get benched like he was last time after he failed. So, there is a serious possibility that we may not see Ronaldo score more than 2 goals, depending on their group, I haven't checked it to be fair, but they will not be great, he will not be great.

When you talk about his performances in European leagues, I assume you mean the Spanish and English leagues? In other European leagues, Ronaldo would still be very competitive. Regarding his performance at next year's World Cup, I agree with you. Even at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, it was clear that Ronaldo no longer makes a difference for his team, that he is no longer as fast and explosive as he used to be when he was younger.
No, the question is who can tell Ronaldo that his time is over and that he will no longer play for the Portuguese national team? Ronaldo has become an institution and a legend that cannot be ignored or simply left out of the national team.

[m4r1o]

This is the criteria of the world; like every time when success comes, they will appreciate the whole, but when failure comes, they will blame singly the top player. Like if we look at the Messi example when he failed to win the 2018 world. Everyone was blaming him and criticizing him for not wining the World Cup, although in the entire World Cup he had much better performance than other player but still they criticized him singly rather than blaming the whole Argentina team.....

So similarly, it's the last dance for the Cristiano Ronaldo, and everyone is expecting it. If he wins, then probably it would be big achievement for CR7 but he failed definitely criticism will be hearing loudly form public....

Anyway let's see what happens?

Everyone wants to jump on the winner's bandwagon, and usually people who have harshly criticized other people's work also jump on the bandwagon.
Many are expecting Ronaldo's final spin, i think expectations won't reflect reality, but he's already given so much in his career, he doesn't necessarily have to amaze.

[martinom]

I have the same opinion with you, many Lionel Messi fans or Cristiano Ronaldo hater saying thr era of Ronaldo have been over without seeing current performance with his club Al Nassr. Cristiano Ronaldo have good physical as top profesional player although have been over 40 years. In this season keep consistent scoring goals with Al Nassr and has challenge to break 1000 goal in his careef before this season end.
Portugal national team head coach Roberto Martínez already saying about Cristiano Ronaldo is important player and will get place at the squad team for World Cup 2026, I want to see Ronaldo bring Portugal winning World Cup 2026 and answering the hater about his career over.

Let's say that Cristiano Ronaldo has a character that attracts serial haters, his ego is very big.
But in my opinion he's a great player, different from Lionel Messi obviously, but he's someone who works and puts in a lot of effort.
His body holds up because he trains and pushes himself hard every day.

[Sarah Azhari]

Realistically, the only thing Ronaldo still wants is to reach the milestone of 1,000 goals scored in official matches and to enter football immortality. To achieve that, he will probably still have to play another season in Saudi Arabia since he is currently around 950 goals, last time I checked. It's unlikely that anyone will ever reach this record again.

Cristiano Ronaldo biggest dream is to win the World Cup trophy because Messi has already won the World Cup. We know the two are rivals and always want to beat each other to become the best player of all time. Ronaldo really wants to be the best player of all time, that's why he wants to win the World Cup because he knows the World Cup is the pinnacle of recognition for a player as the best in the world or the best of all time. Ronaldo probably realizes that he will be difficult to win the World Cup, so he aims for something else to be remembered forever: scoring 1000 goals to become the only player in history to score 1000 goals.

[giorgione]

I'm not positioning myself as a fan and I'm not positioning myself as a hater, I'm just speaking from a football lover's point of view. So what I say is purely my objective assessment of this player.

I have to praise him for his hard work, but if he insists on always being the first choice then I will also criticize him, because let it be the job of the coach who judges based on the needs of the team. And when the Portuguese coach says that (as you did), it means we have the same assessment. And that's actually more valid because the coach knows the needs of his team better.

I am a football lover and I certainly like good football but I have to say that I don't know if Cristiano is ready to face this whole World Cup championship this year, I know the level is very high and he will certainly be physically ready, but he is still 40 years old

[Frankolala]

I am a football lover and I certainly like good football but I have to say that I don't know if Cristiano is ready to face this whole World Cup championship this year, I know the level is very high and he will certainly be physically ready, but he is still 40 years old

He is fit at 40 years old which is what matters the most. Ronaldo is not only going to play in the world cup, he is already playing in his club and that will keep him fit for the tournament next year. You should know that he's not going to be playing full 90 minutes because he will get tired. He will be substituted in the second half. Don't be surprised that he will score more than one goal.