The 2026 FIFA World Cup begins on June 11, but one of the favorites in the tournament, the Portugal national football team, doesn’t play until June 17, when they face the DR Congo national football team on Matchday 1 of the group stage.
Nonetheless, before that game, Portugal does have a friendly against Nigeria on June 10 as their last tune-up before their game in Houston against the DR Congo. Still, the conversation around Portugal isn’t only about whether they can put it all together to win a World Cup, but also about whether this will be Cristiano Ronaldo’s final one.
At 41 years old, chances are it is his last, but Portugal manager Roberto Martinez and the team aren’t taking a farewell-tour approach to this tournament for the superstar forward.
“Our captain sets an example in everything he does,” Martinez said (h/t Adriana Garcia of ESPN). “He gives his all, 24 hours a day, to help the national team. Our captain and the rest of the players are not thinking about the future. We don’t know what can happen in the future because they can get injured and there are decisions that are out of their hands.”
The next time the World Cup rolls around in 2030, Ronaldo would be 45 years old, and while he can still play football at an elite level to earn his national team call-ups, at some point, Father Time will greet him.
Portugal Is Focus on the Present Not the Future
Portugal is looking for a deeper run than it experienced in Qatar in 2022, as the group fell short of expectations. While they topped their group, the Portuguese team was eliminated in the quarterfinals by the surprising Moroccan team, which had a deep run.
Nonetheless, for this competition, Portugal is simply focused on the task at hand: Preparing to make a deep run in the tournament and win it all.
“The focus is on training, being the best, putting the concepts into practice and showing pride in wearing the shirt,” Martinez added. “That’s the example he sets. His sole aim is to use it for tomorrow to improve.”
Portugal Manager Has High Hopes for Group Heading to World Cup
Moreover, Martinez noted that he’s high on this current group of players that he’s taking to North America to try and win it all. Along with Ronaldo, they have back-to-back Champions League winners in Vitinha, Nuno Mendes, and Joao Neves, as well as Premier League-experienced players in Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva, among other talents in the squad.
“It’s a group of very talented players,” Martinez said. “We have the structure and discipline to win every game. The statistics speak for themselves: goals, victories … Total commitment to pressing high up the pitch and defending quickly — that’s the style, the result of 15 years of work in Portuguese youth football.
“Another aspect is the tactical one. It’s a bit different from talking about our tactical structure. The style is what we have. As for tactics, I already said on the first day. The idea is to have tactical flexibility to adapt individual talent within the team’s structure. And that’s what we’re working on … our style is straightforward and well-defined.”
Portugal is in Group K and will be facing DR Congo, Uzbekistan, and Colombia in the group stage.
Portugal Gives Clear Cristiano Ronaldo Message Before World Cup