Cristiano Ronaldo has never lifted the World Cup. He raised Portugal

For the first time in more than two decades, football will prepare for the World Cup without Cristiano Ronaldo.

It will take some getting used to.

An entire generation has grown up and Ronaldo appears every four years, carrying Portugal’s hopes and more often than not leading the conversation. It never really mattered whether Portugal came in as favorites or underdogs, whether Ronaldo was the fastest player on the pitch or, as was the case in the United States, the oldest player on the field to remain standing.

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Long before Portugal kicked the ball in America, Ronaldo’s last, the debate had already begun. Should 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo still lead? Did Portugal keep their best player for one tournament too long?

They were fair footballing questions as, for perhaps the first time in Ronaldo’s international career, Portugal arrived with a team that looked capable of carrying themselves. Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva, Vitinha, Rafael Leao, Nuno Mendes, Diogo Costa and Goncalo Ramos represented the present and more importantly the future. If ever there was a World Cup where Portugal could finally move on under Cristiano Ronaldo, this was it.

The thing about Cristiano Ronaldo though is that football has been trying to decide for over a decade when he should finally quit. Football has been wrong far more often than it has been right.

They heard him when he turned 30, then 35, when he left Real Madrid, when he moved to Saudi Arabia and almost every season after that. More often than not, Ronaldo responded in the only language he ever really knew – goals, records and an almost stubborn refusal to let someone else write the ending for him. Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo looks dejected after the match as Portugal crash out of the World Cup (Reuters Photo)

Perhaps that was why, at 41, millions were still watching Portugal, believing there might be one more magical World Cup night left in them. The others tuned in just as eagerly, convinced that the time had finally caught up.

Everyone was watching anyway.

The winner of the Spanish stopwatch in Dallas finally ended the Portuguese campaign and in all likelihood closed the curtain on Ronaldo’s World Cup journey. When Mikel Merino’s goal settled the game and tears came after the final whistle, the conversation immediately turned to the one trophy that always eluded him. It almost felt unfair.

More than twenty years in the Portuguese jersey somehow reduced to one missing medal.

That never felt like a fair way to tell the Cristiano Ronaldo story.

Because while the World Cup remains out of his reach, Ronaldo has already accomplished something that is arguably just as difficult. Before he made his senior debut in 2003, Portugal had never won a major international honour. By the time he retired from what is expected to be his final World Cup, lifted the European Championship, nations league, twice and stopped going to tournaments in the hope that they would compete. They traveled with anticipation. Cristiano Ronaldo didn’t just build this transformation himself, but no footballer shaped it more than the man who became the most played player in the history of men’s football and the all-time leading scorer in international football.

Cristiano Ronaldo has never lifted the World Cup.

He lifted Portugal for more than twenty years.

RONALDO’S PORTUGAL NEVER WORKED

Ronaldo after securing Portugal’s qualification for the 2014 World Cup (Photo Reuters)

For most of his international career, Portugal needed Cristiano Ronaldo because they simply didn’t have another footballer capable of deciding matches the way he could.

As games drifted away from them, teammates looked to Ronaldo almost instinctively. Need a goal? Find Ronald. Need someone to take the pressure? Give it to Ronaldo. Need someone to drag Portugal through another impossible night? He’s been doing exactly that since he was in his twenties.

This World Cup was supposed to be different.

Portugal have finally arrived with a squad deep enough to ensure their biggest player no longer has to carry the full load. Bruno Fernandes became one of Europe’s best playmakers, Bernardo Silva and Vitinha controlled games with remarkable intelligence; Rafael Leo could turn defenders inside out, Diogo Costa has quietly established himself as one of the world’s safest goalkeepers and Nuno Mendes looked every inch the elite full-back that many already believe him to be.

For the first time, Portugal had enough quality to carry Cristiano Ronaldo.

Instead, they somehow ended up asking him to carry them again.

Criticism Ronaldo faced throughout the tournament it wasn’t entirely unfair.

At 41, he was never going to sprint away from defenders for 90 minutes or push himself like he once did. He wasn’t the player who tore Spain apart with a hat-trick in 2018 or tore through midfield in his prime. Even someone as obsessed with fitness as Ronaldo couldn’t stay ahead of time forever.

But there was another side to that conversation.

Three goals in six games was hardly the return of a player who lived on reputation. His brace against Uzbekistan reminded everyone that his instincts in the booth remained razor sharp, while a decisive penalty against Croatia put Portugal through to the last eight. The explosive runner may have gone out, but the shooter never left. Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo in action with Uzbekistan (Photo Reuters)

Portugal just never figured out how to make the most of the version of Cristiano Ronaldo they still had.

That’s where Roberto Martinez’s World Cup campaign will ultimately be judged.

Against Colombia in the group stage, Ronaldo repeatedly dropped into midfield as Portugal struggled to win the ball. Against Spain, the same picture unfolded again. Watching Ronaldo win the ball forty yards from goal almost felt backwards. Portugal’s top scorer became a Portuguese midfielder, not because he wanted to, but because someone had to arrange things.

Every time Ronaldo wandered away from the penalty area, Spain has become more comfortable.

Then came a moment that made you wonder exactly what Portugal’s plan was all along.

Goncalo Ramos, the striker many believed should have started ahead of Ronaldo, never even came off the bench. If Portugal believed Ramos represented the future, it was the perfect game to allow him to share the burden. If they believed that Ronaldo was still their best striker, then the team should be built to put him in scoring positions.

Somehow Portugal chose neither.

This indecision became the story of Roberto Martinez’s spell with the national team. Portugal coach Roberto Martinez instructs his players during a hydration break (Reuters Photo)

The Spaniard inherited arguably the deepest Portuguese squad ever assembled, but too often the football never reflected the talent on the pitch. It was a criticism that followed with Belgium’s golden generation, where Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard, Romelu Lukaku and Thibaut Courtois somehow walked away without the major trophy many believed they deserved. Portugal hoped that history would not repeat itself.

Instead, it felt painfully familiar.

Against Spain, Portugal defended heroically for almost ninety minutes. Ruben Dias and Renato Veiga were excellent, plunging into challenges and ensuring Diogo Costa was not left to fight alone. Nuno Mendes once again produced a superb performance against Lamine Yamal, frustrating Spain’s brightest young star before being forced off with a hamstring injury.

The game changed almost immediately.

Luis de la Fuente responded with fresh attacking feet, Fabian Ruiz weaved Ferran Torres into space and Torres returned the favor with a perfectly balanced pass for Mikel Merino to sneak into the only gap Portugal had left all night. It was a great move, but also a cruel reminder of how delicate the edges were.

The Portuguese World Cup is over.

It was almost certainly Cristiano Ronaldo.

WILL RONALDO DEFINE A MISSED WORLD CUP?

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe celebrate with the trophy after winning Euro 2016 (Photo Reuters)

after defeat Ronaldo admitted he was heartbroken.

“I’m sad to leave the World Cup like this. I gave everything. I did my best and I’m leaving with a clear conscience.”

Looking back at all he has given Portugal, it is hard to argue otherwise.

Ronaldo may have summed up his career better than anyone years ago.

“I’m not a perfectionist, but I like the feeling of things being done well. More importantly, I feel an endless need to learn, to improve, to develop.”

Everything about Cristiano Ronaldo makes sense when you read these words again.

Endless gym workouts. Strict diets. Obsession with recovery. Refusal to accept rejection. Even though he had already won the Ballon d’Or, the Champions League and the European Championship, Ronaldo still acted like someone who still had everything to prove.

Maybe that’s why the World Cup always mattered so much.

Not because he needed it to become one of football’s greatest players.

Because he just never stopped chasing the next challenge.

One day the debate will fade away. GOAT arguments lose their edge. Children will discover Ronaldo through old moments rather than live broadcasts. Stadiums filled with nearly 100,000 people rising together to roar “Siuuu” can become memories rather than weekly rituals.

However, Portugal will remember something else.

They will remember the teenager from Madeira who grew up in the face of a footballing nation.

They will remember the captain who led them to their first major international trophy and football identity.

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– The end

Issued by:

Saurabh Kumar

Published on:

Jul 7, 2026 12:31 PM IST