Cristiano Ronaldo

This is, almost certainly, the last act. Ronaldo has hinted at retirement after every tournament since 2018 and kept turning up — but at 41, with Portugal’s strongest squad in a generation around him, the calculus is finally different: he doesn’t have to carry them, and Roberto Martínez has visibly built the team to use him as a finisher rather than a focal point. The headline narratives — sixth World Cup, equalling Messi, the goal record already extended past 137 — almost overshadow the football question of where exactly he starts. Expect him in a hybrid centre-forward/second-striker role with Gonçalo Ramos doing more of the pressing and combination work, and Ronaldo reserved for the moments inside the box that he has spent two decades turning into goals.

There is also the captaincy weight. Bernardo Silva took the armband during a Ronaldo suspension at Euro 2024 and Bruno Fernandes has the team’s tactical voice — but the dressing room remains Ronaldo’s, and the tournament narrative is built around whether he can finally lift a World Cup at the seventh time of asking.

Strengths

• Aerial finishing
• Penalty conversion
• Off-ball runs in the box
• Big-moment composure
• Set-piece direct shooting

Recent form

Al Nassr's leading scorer in 2025-26; Saudi Pro League top-scorer race contender.

2026 will be his sixth World Cup, equalling Lionel Messi's all-time men's record. He is also the only male player to have scored at five different World Cup tournaments.