The captain of the Portuguese national team, Cristiano Ronaldo assured this Friday that he arrives at the 2026 World Cup in good physical condition and with the hope of winning the only major title that is still missing in the history of the Portuguese team.
The forward spoke to the press before traveling to the United States with the rest of the squad and highlighted the quality of the generation that will represent Portugal in the World Cup.
“We will only know in the end. It is a very good generation, but there are many factors that we cannot control. The games, winning or losing, which is the most important thing. I think this generation will bring a lot of joy to the Portuguese,” he stated.
Asked about the possibilities of winning the world title, Cristiano acknowledged that he sees it as feasible to achieve that goal. “I think so, but it will depend on many factors”he responded. At 41 years old, the forward will face what he has announced as the last World Cup of his career and said he feels prepared for the challenge.
“I arrived physically well, with a lot of joy and hope. Playing in a World Cup is always something very special,” he said. Cristiano also valued the preparation carried out by the team led by Roberto Martínez. Although he admitted that Portugal did not show its best version in the friendlies against Chile and Nigeria, he stressed that the important thing will be performance during the competition.
“The preparation was good, although demanding. The most important thing will be when the ball starts rolling on the 17th. After the second or third game, when physical and mental fatigue appears, in addition to the high temperatures, then we will see who the true champions are,” he commented.
Portugal will travel to Miami this Friday to begin its participation in the World Cup 2026, where they share Group K with Colombia, Uzbekistan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The Portuguese team will debut on June 17 against the African team and will seek to win a World Cup for the first time to add it to the Euro 2016 titles and the League of Nations.