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

[verdinio]

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.

I think that now he is only preparing to play the World Cup and i think that the level and quality is still there and is also very high, never underestimate Cristiano Ronaldo when it comes to breaking records and winning again and again, i think he can do it

[pewboy]

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.

Surely Ronaldo can't lead Portugal alone, I'd say that's impossible.
He will be the driving force for all the players, that's for sure, maybe they will feel safer with Ronaldo in action, but one person can't act for an entire team.
However, it has the potential to push the team to optimistic thinking and push them into eventual victories.
Many are underestimating Ronaldo just because of his age, in my opinion it is a serious mistake.

[Volgastallion]

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.

Surely Ronaldo can't lead Portugal alone, I'd say that's impossible.
He will be the driving force for all the players, that's for sure, maybe they will feel safer with Ronaldo in action, but one person can't act for an entire team.
However, it has the potential to push the team to optimistic thinking and push them into eventual victories.
Many are underestimating Ronaldo just because of his age, in my opinion it is a serious mistake.

Well in fact, lead is alone you are the only leader, what he cant do alone is carrying the team, and there he needs the whole team working for a goal, more now when he is 40+ years old, he is not longer the young Cristiano who is gonna win  a race against anyone. Now he is a full striker.

[BitBakerr1]

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.

Surely Ronaldo can't lead Portugal alone, I'd say that's impossible.
He will be the driving force for all the players, that's for sure, maybe they will feel safer with Ronaldo in action, but one person can't act for an entire team.
However, it has the potential to push the team to optimistic thinking and push them into eventual victories.
Many are underestimating Ronaldo just because of his age, in my opinion it is a serious mistake.

Yes Ronaldo can not lead Portugal to victory alone without the help of other players it's impossible for them to lift the world cup, just like Messi he was supported by wonderful players that did very well to make sure that they lifted the world cup. I believe Cristiano Ronaldo can help his team lift the world cup but it won't be easy and everyone knows that because we have other teams that are very inform and ready to lift the cup. I think we should just wait till the world cup begin before we can start thinking about which team will win the world cup or not.
I'm not part of those people that are underestimating Cristiano Ronaldo because of his age, his still doing very well in his club and he can do same in the world cup.

[dezoel]

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..

Because Messi did manage to win one, which took nearly all his career, this made Ronaldo lack one more cup than him, otherwise they both won almost everything, some more than others and they competed in all things they were in, but the difference of world cup made Messi be talked more and all Messi fans are talking about how Ronaldo doesn't have one and as a fragile ego person Ronaldo hates that and will do whatever he can to get it. But dude will be 41-42 by the time this is played, so not like he will be capable of doing much about it neither.

[Alex077]

 

A lot of people are actually very angry about this and the anger is definitely justified in my opinion. Because why would you agree to give this unfair advantage to the attackers? What is the point of a high line or offside trap anymore? Now a lot more teams are going to start to park the bus and also drop deeper quicker. And I think that might not result in more goals. That might just make the game more boring after one team is able to score one goal. Because after that they are most probably going to drop and maybe even Park The Bus.   

[EL MOHA]

 

A lot of people are actually very angry about this and the anger is definitely justified in my opinion. Because why would you agree to give this unfair advantage to the attackers? What is the point of a high line or offside trap anymore? Now a lot more teams are going to start to park the bus and also drop deeper quicker. And I think that might not result in more goals. That might just make the game more boring after one team is able to score one goal. Because after that they are most probably going to drop and maybe even Park The Bus.   

I myself is actually do not like this rule for one bit it takes away the joy and also the suspense away from the game, we see situations where the defenders actually act smart by playing attackers offside with just a little margin of their body and this is what makes this sport interesting, trying to change this rules will only complicate issues because as we have seen with VAR which couldn’t solve all our related problems we might also face same problem because there will still be some unfair refereeing decisions even if this is implemented. Let the game stays as it was

[ShowOff]

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.

Surely Ronaldo can't lead Portugal alone, I'd say that's impossible.
He will be the driving force for all the players, that's for sure, maybe they will feel safer with Ronaldo in action, but one person can't act for an entire team.
However, it has the potential to push the team to optimistic thinking and push them into eventual victories.
Many are underestimating Ronaldo just because of his age, in my opinion it is a serious mistake.

Ronaldo presence not only brought a big influence to the Portuguese national team, but will also increase the attention of fans worldwide for the 2026 World Cup. He is no longer young, and the manager will certainly limit his playing time if Ronaldo ends up taking part. I agree that Portugal needs Ronaldo to improve the team mentality.

But no one can guarantee that Ronaldo will play in the 2026 World Cup, I think it all depends on his fitness and the manager decision. Overall people are still hoping to see Ronaldo at the 2026 World Cup, which will most likely be the last chance of his career.

[pewboy]

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!

Journalists look for this news because they have to work but sometimes, or better let's say always, they exaggerate the news or invent fake news to attract people and clicks.
Now, in 2025, sorry 2026, journalism is dead to the god of clicks and the god of money

[dollyamo]

If we should tell ourselves the truth, the Portuguese coach will only pick Christiano Ronaldo for the up coming world cup just for respect out of the sacrifices he has done for the country at his prime. Maybe if by any chances they win the world cup so that Ronaldo will be counted as a winner. But if we are being realistic here, Ronaldo has nothing to offer the team anymore. As a coach who wants to win the world cup will you depend on a 40 years old Man to do anything meaningful for you? Playing Ronaldo in the field in a serious world cup match will be like playing with one player less because he won't help the team in any capacity unless there's a penalty. If Portugal wants to do well in this world cup, they should not be starting Ronaldo. He can be introduce around 80 plus minutes or 90 plus.

Even if he is not able to run like before, his contribution in Portugal is felt in my opinion, he can handle the ball having experience and vision of the game and he can provide passes that can lead to goals.

Then let's remember that he is an exceptional shooter, so free kicks would always be awarded to him with a high probability of scoring.

[Daniel91]

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.

Surely Ronaldo can't lead Portugal alone, I'd say that's impossible.
He will be the driving force for all the players, that's for sure, maybe they will feel safer with Ronaldo in action, but one person can't act for an entire team.
However, it has the potential to push the team to optimistic thinking and push them into eventual victories.
Many are underestimating Ronaldo just because of his age, in my opinion it is a serious mistake.

Ronaldo presence not only brought a big influence to the Portuguese national team, but will also increase the attention of fans worldwide for the 2026 World Cup. He is no longer young, and the manager will certainly limit his playing time if Ronaldo ends up taking part. I agree that Portugal needs Ronaldo to improve the team mentality.

But no one can guarantee that Ronaldo will play in the 2026 World Cup, I think it all depends on his fitness and the manager decision. Overall people are still hoping to see Ronaldo at the 2026 World Cup, which will most likely be the last chance of his career.

Ronaldo certainly has charisma, enormous popularity, and a huge number of fans around the world, but the Portuguese coach will definitely not be assembling the team based on the popularity of players, but on their quality and readiness to play. 
I think it will be very difficult to leave Ronaldo out of the Portugal squad for the World Cup due to his influence and reputation, but the question is how much he will actually play in the World Cup. 
Portugal currently has a very good team even without him, with young, fast, and quality players. 
At the last World Cup and European Championship, it was evident that Ronaldo's impact on Portugal's game and results was limited and smaller than before, when he was younger.

[Frankolala]

If we should tell ourselves the truth, the Portuguese coach will only pick Christiano Ronaldo for the up coming world cup just for respect out of the sacrifices he has done for the country at his prime. Maybe if by any chances they win the world cup so that Ronaldo will be counted as a winner. But if we are being realistic here, Ronaldo has nothing to offer the team anymore. As a coach who wants to win the world cup will you depend on a 40 years old Man to do anything meaningful for you? Playing Ronaldo in the field in a serious world cup match will be like playing with one player less because he won't help the team in any capacity unless there's a penalty. If Portugal wants to do well in this world cup, they should not be starting Ronaldo. He can be introduce around 80 plus minutes or 90 plus.

Even if he is not able to run like before, his contribution in Portugal is felt in my opinion, he can handle the ball having experience and vision of the game and he can provide passes that can lead to goals.

Then let's remember that he is an exceptional shooter, so free kicks would always be awarded to him with a high probability of scoring.

He's a good advantage to the Portuguese national team and no one will deny that. He's a professional goal scorer. He can score, assit and take free kicks or penalty kicks. He might not be that fast and very sharp with the ball due to old age but his experience is highly needed in the Portuguese national team.

[Sithara007]

He's a good advantage to the Portuguese national team and no one will deny that. He's a professional goal scorer. He can score, assit and take free kicks or penalty kicks. He might not be that fast and very sharp with the ball due to old age but his experience is highly needed in the Portuguese national team.

I have watched Christiano Ronaldo's recent matches for Al Nassr in the Saudi Professional League, and at no point I noticed him slowing down or lagging when compared to the other players. I would say that even at the age of almost 41 years, he is fitter than some of the other players such as Kylian Mbappé or Neymar. And rather than Ronaldo providing a good advantage to the Portuguese national team, it is almost like him being a one-man army. He gets good support from other players like João Félix, Rafael Leão, Francisco Conceição and Gonçalo Ramos. But if Ronaldo is not playing, none of these players have the capability of winning matches consistently for their team.

[Frankolala]

He's a good advantage to the Portuguese national team and no one will deny that. He's a professional goal scorer. He can score, assit and take free kicks or penalty kicks. He might not be that fast and very sharp with the ball due to old age but his experience is highly needed in the Portuguese national team.

I have watched Christiano Ronaldo's recent matches for Al Nassr in the Saudi Professional League, and at no point I noticed him slowing down or lagging when compared to the other players. I would say that even at the age of almost 41 years, he is fitter than some of the other players such as Kylian Mbappé or Neymar. And rather than Ronaldo providing a good advantage to the Portuguese national team, it is almost like him being a one-man army. He gets good support from other players like João Félix, Rafael Leão, Francisco Conceição and Gonçalo Ramos. But if Ronaldo is not playing, none of these players have the capability of winning matches consistently for their team.

I wouldn't agree with you that Christian Ronaldo is fitter that Mbappe, I can agree that he is fitter than Neymar. Sometimes, I wonder the kind of exercises that Ronaldo does that made him as fit as he is till this age because a lot of his mate in football have retired but he's still very strong and keeps up with his pace.

[Gost ms]

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.

Surely Ronaldo can't lead Portugal alone, I'd say that's impossible.
He will be the driving force for all the players, that's for sure, maybe they will feel safer with Ronaldo in action, but one person can't act for an entire team.
However, it has the potential to push the team to optimistic thinking and push them into eventual victories.
Many are underestimating Ronaldo just because of his age, in my opinion it is a serious mistake.

Ronaldo presence not only brought a big influence to the Portuguese national team, but will also increase the attention of fans worldwide for the 2026 World Cup. He is no longer young, and the manager will certainly limit his playing time if Ronaldo ends up taking part. I agree that Portugal needs Ronaldo to improve the team mentality.

But no one can guarantee that Ronaldo will play in the 2026 World Cup, I think it all depends on his fitness and the manager decision. Overall people are still hoping to see Ronaldo at the 2026 World Cup, which will most likely be the last chance of his career.

Ronaldo certainly has charisma, enormous popularity, and a huge number of fans around the world, but the Portuguese coach will definitely not be assembling the team based on the popularity of players, but on their quality and readiness to play. 
I think it will be very difficult to leave Ronaldo out of the Portugal squad for the World Cup due to his influence and reputation, but the question is how much he will actually play in the World Cup. 
Portugal currently has a very good team even without him, with young, fast, and quality players. 
At the last World Cup and European Championship, it was evident that Ronaldo's impact on Portugal's game and results was limited and smaller than before, when he was younger.

Yes you are right. But yes Ronaldo's popularity may not be of any use in the team's situation. Because the player who can perform well for the team will get a place in the team, it will be a right decision and a very good decision for the team. But yes Ronaldo is currently performing well and Ronaldo is a very experienced player. When playing against a big team, many young players get scared and their performance gets very bad but Ronaldo is a very experienced player and the young players of Ronaldo's team play much better than him. Removing Ronaldo from the team will never be a right decision.

[katanic97]

 

A lot of people are actually very angry about this and the anger is definitely justified in my opinion. Because why would you agree to give this unfair advantage to the attackers? What is the point of a high line or offside trap anymore? Now a lot more teams are going to start to park the bus and also drop deeper quicker. And I think that might not result in more goals. That might just make the game more boring after one team is able to score one goal. Because after that they are most probably going to drop and maybe even Park The Bus.   

This will affect the game, and it will do so a lot. Fast players like Mbappe, Doku, and Vinicius  ... will definitely feel this change to their advantage. They will have the edge, and that first step past the defenders will become the most important, as these players will gain a huge advantage. It will be even more complicated for defenders, as they will have to stay high up the pitch and focus more on physically stopping the attackers. I’m not sure how smart a move it is for FIFA to introduce this rule, but the good thing is that we have VAR, so there certainly won’t be irregularities

[Shadiq]

I wouldn't agree with you that Christian Ronaldo is fitter that Mbappe, I can agree that he is fitter than Neymar. Sometimes, I wonder the kind of exercises that Ronaldo does that made him as fit as he is till this age because a lot of his mate in football have retired but he's still very strong and keeps up with his pace.

In terms of fitness, Cristiano Ronaldo will still be ahead, Kylian Mbappe has good speed and his fitness is also good, but it is not better than Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo may be much ahead in the fitness competition with Mbappe even in his old age, even Messi. Maybe Mbappe can win the fitness competition with Neymar Jr. In terms of performance, Ronaldo is now a little weaker, but not in terms of fitness. His age may prevent him from running or performing as before, but his hard work is still enjoyed on the field and is visible in his body.

[Ale88]

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.

I disagree. Cristiano Ronaldo is still impressive considering his age but I don't think he would score many goals in the other leagues such as Italian, German and French, for example. Many defenders in the Saudi League are a joke, they don't know how to defend, in Europe is different because even a defender from a random Portuguese team is probably better than a Saudi defender. Sure, they also have some foreign players who are great defenders but in general they focus more on buying strikers and offensive players rather than defenders.

[Volgastallion]

Im in favor of the new rule about offsides i never support the thing you get a goal dissalowed becuase a nail of you is ahead of the last defender. But i also have to point out a few things acbout this changes, first of all is gonna change the football for ever, and a lot of forward players can score a lot more goals.

My main question is about how the defense are gonna react, defending more deeper?

[Alpha Marine]

I think that now he is only preparing to play the World Cup and i think that the level and quality is still there and is also very high, never underestimate Cristiano Ronaldo when it comes to breaking records and winning again and again, i think he can do it

He would break the record because of the league he is playing in. Let's not delude ourselves, he no longer has the quality. The zeal and experience is there but age has taken most of his quality away.
I don't think he should be a starter in the world cup. There are other players that may not be more experienced than him, but they're stronger and younger and they can fill that spot better. Even if he starts, he shouldn't play the full 90 minutes. Ronaldo might be the most dangerous player in the box, but if it's against a team that is good, his team might at a disadvantage because he won't be able to join the build up play.
Currently, Ronaldo is the kind of payer that you bring in when you need a winning or equalising goal and your team is pressing to score. But he's not a player that can play the full 90 minutes at top level in an elite competitive match.