World Cup 2026: Time to bench Cristiano Ronaldo as ‘last dance’ nears?
The all-time leading scorer in international football with 146 goals, Ronaldo reinvented Portuguese football and changed the mentality of football like no other player before him.
He has arrived at the previous five World Cups with untouchable status but there are growing calls for him to step back and play a lesser role on the pitch.
“He doesn’t play to win, he plays to be the central figure,” said Antonio Simoes, a member of the Portuguese team that finished third in the 1966 World Cup.
“Do you understand that this is the exact opposite of Eusebio? Let’s call everything by its name. I have nothing against it. I can still see, I can still hear, and I can still think. But I cannot escape the reality of facts.”
Ronaldo, who has scored three times in the United States and Canada, has now scored in all six World Cups he has played in.
The penalty scored against Iran in 2006 was followed by a goal against North Korea in Cape Town four years later. His only goal in the 2014 World Cup was against Ghana in Brazil.
He then scored a hat-trick against Spain in a group match in Sochi in 2018, followed by a win against Morocco in Moscow five days later.
Ronaldo’s only goal in Qatar in 2022 was the penalty he scored against Ghana. He scored twice in a 5-0 win over Uzbekistan in Houston on June 23 before scoring a penalty against Croatia last week.
“His leadership and his work in the final third is still one of the best in the world,” Martinez said when asked about his decision to stick with Ronaldo.
Since taking over after Martinez stepped down as Belgium head coach in 2023, Ronaldo has featured in 36 of Portugal’s 44 matches, with most of his absences due to injury or suspension.
Portugal achieved their biggest win of the season, defeating Luxembourg 9-0 in Faro in September 2023, in one of the matches in which Ronaldo was not involved.
Their second big win, 9-1 against Armenia in Porto last November, also came without Ronaldo.
Unsurprisingly, debate quickly returned after both matches about whether the team would have played better without their captain – but fans continue to adore the player who “makes us dream”.
