Cristiano Ronaldo has confirmed that this will be his final World Cup, marking the end of an extraordinary era after becoming the first player in history to score at six different World Cup finals.
At 41, the announcement is hardly unexpected, but it adds a sharper emotional edge to Portugal’s campaign. With each round that passes, the possibility grows that Ronaldo’s next appearance could be his last on football’s biggest stage.
Portugal’s path forward looks far from straightforward, particularly with the Opta supercomputer giving them just a 25.6 per cent chance of defeating Spain within 90 minutes.
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Spain enter the contest in formidable form, unbeaten across their last 14 internationals. Their most recent setback came on penalties in the Nations League final against Portugal, a match in which Ronaldo scored the equaliser to force extra time before calmly converting his spot kick in the shootout.
The recent World Cup history between the two nations also carries plenty of drama. Their last meeting at the tournament came in Sochi in 2018, when Ronaldo produced one of his defining international performances, scoring a hat-trick in a thrilling 3-3 draw and finding the net with all three of his shots on target.
Ronaldo’s numbers for Portugal remain staggering: 146 goals in 232 appearances, making him both the country’s all-time leading scorer and its most-capped player. His goal against Croatia in the round of 32 also made him the second-oldest goalscorer in World Cup history.
