Cristiano Ronaldo will be in a World Cup again. Portugal coach Roberto Martínez confirmed the striker’s call-up for the 2026 World Cup, a tournament in which CR7 will compete in his sixth World Cup at the age of 41. Since Germany 2006, the Portuguese has not missed any World Cup edition.
With this, Ronaldo will become one of the few footballers in history to play in six World Cups. a record he will equal with Lionel Messi who also entered the final list of the Argentina National Team announced by Lionel Scaloni.
In five World Cups, the Portuguese played 22 games and scored 8 goals, in addition to becoming the only player to score in five consecutive editions of the tournament. His best performance was in Russia 2018, where he scored four goals, including a historic hat trick against Spain.
Ronaldo will also arrive at the 2026 World Cup as the team’s all-time top scorer with 143 goals in 226 international matches. In addition, the tournament could bring him closer to the 1,000 goal barrier in his professional career.
His numbers in the World Cups
Statistical summary (2006-2022):
- World Cups played: 5
- Games played: 22
- Goals scored: 8
- Assists: 2
- Best result: Fourth place in Germany 2006
Goals per edition:
- Germany 2006 — 1 goal (21 years old)
- South Africa 2010 — 1 goal (25 years old)
- Brazil 2014 — 1 goal (29 years old)
- Russia 2018 — 4 goals (33 years old)
- Qatar 2022 — 1 goal (37 years old)
- United States, Mexico and Canada 2026 — To be written (41 years)
Video: All Cristiano Ronaldo’s goals scored in the five editions of the World Cup, here
2026: one last dance for the title
Portugal will arrive at the 2026 World Cup as one of the candidates for the title, led by Cristiano Ronaldo and a generation led by Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva and Rúben Dias. The Portuguese will share Group K with Colombia, Uzbekistan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they start as favorites to advance to the next round.