Cristiano Ronaldo will take part at his sixth career World Cup when Portugal travel to North America in summer 2026.
International men's football's all-time leading goal-scorer will be 41 once the tournament comes around, but he was again integral to Portugal's successful qualification campaign, scoring five times as they topped UEFA Group F.
In Portugal's penultimate qualifier, Ronaldo was sent off for lashing out at Dara O'Shea during the Selecao's defeat to the Republic of Ireland.
That left him in danger of missing the opening two matches of the World Cup. However, in an unprecedented move, FIFA ruled that Ronaldo's ban would be suspended for 12 months.
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Portugal World Cup 2026 schedule
Portugal were drawn in Group K alongside Colombia, tournament debutants Uzbekistan and the winner of the inter-confederation playoff path featuring Jamaica, New Caledonia and DR Congo.
| Date | Time (ET) | Match | Stadium |
| June 17 | TBD | Portugal vs. DR Congo/Jamaica/New Caledonia | TBD |
| June 23 | TBD | Portugal vs. Uzbekistan | TBD |
| June 27 | TBD | Colombia vs. Portugal | TBD |
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Portugal potential route to World Cup 2026 final
Portugal's status as the No. 6 team in the world means that they were drawn as a seeded Pot 1 team.
If they win Group K as their seeding suggests, Roberto Martinez's team will face one of the best third-place finishers in the Round of 32.
The winner of Group B, featuring hosts Canada, Switzerland and possibly Italy if they get through their UEFA playoff, would likely be up next in the Round of 16, from which point things get really interesting.
If both progress as group winners, Ronaldo's Portugal and Lionel Messi's Argentina will face off in the quarterfinals. A semifinal against Brazil or England may follow.
- Round of 32: Best third-place team
- Round of 16: Italy
- Quarterfinal: Argentina
- Semifinal: Brazil or England
- Final: Spain
WORLD CUP DRAW BREAKDOWNS:
Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D | Group E | Group F
Group G | Group H | Group I | Group J | Group K | Group L
Ronaldo record at the World Cup
Ronaldo's strongest showing at the World Cup came in his first tournament in 2006, when Portugal were beaten semfinalists and finished fourth.
They departed in the Round of 16 in 2010 and 2018, either side of a group-stage exit in Brazil 2014. At Qatar 2022, they made it to the quarterfinals before being stunned by Morocco.
Across his five tournaments, Ronaldo has eight goals from 22 World Cup appearances. The pick of these was a stunning hat-trick in the 3-3 group-stage draw against Spain at Russia 2018.
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