Kátia Aveiro assured that the 2026 World Cup will be Cristiano Ronaldo’s “last dance” with the Portuguese team. The announcement came hours before the captain scored his first goal against Croatia in a World Cup knockout phase.
Cristiano Ronaldo could be playing his last games with the Portugal team. Hours before the 2-1 victory over Croatia in the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup, his sister, Kátia Aveiro, stated that the tournament will mark the end of the 41-year-old forward’s international career.
“According to the information I have, they can say goodbye. Not today, but I think this is the farewell. I am referring to the national team. I say it from a reliable source, it is the last dance, the World Cup,” he told Portuguese media before the match in Toronto.
The announcement coincided with a historic night for Cristiano. The Portuguese captain converted the partial draw against Croatia from a penalty and broke one of the few outstanding scores he had in his career: scoring for the first time in a direct elimination phase of the World Cup.
Minutes later he celebrated again with a brilliant finish inside the area, but the VAR annulled the goal due to a millimeter offside. Cristiano left the field of play in the 81st minute and, from the bench, watched as Portugal resisted the attempted Croatian reaction until sealing qualification with a dramatic outcome, also marked by a video referee intervention that annulled Croatia’s tying goal.
Ronaldo disputes in North America his sixth World Cupa record in the history of the men’s tournament. Since his debut in Germany 2006, he also participated in South Africa 2010, Brazil 2014, Russia 2018, Qatar 2022 and now in the 2026 edition. In addition, he is the first footballer to score in six World Cups and the all-time top scorer for the Portuguese team.
Before the match, Kátia Aveiro also assured that her brother faces this moment with serenity.
“The most important thing is to enjoy these twenty-odd years that we have lived. I am incredibly proud. I was in Qatar, I am here. It is a huge source of pride. I am confident and we will smile at the end. Ronaldo is confident, he is less nervous than us.”
Although Cristiano Ronaldo has not spoken publicly about his future with the national team, his sister’s statements fuel the expectation that the 2026 World Cup will be his farewell with the Portugal shirt.
Before closing that chapter, the forward still has a challenge ahead of him. Portugal will face Spain in the round of 16, in an Iberian classic that could become another historic moment in the latest World Cup adventure of the greatest reference in Portuguese football.