Cristiano Ronaldo Confirms 2026 World Cup Will Be His Last For Portugal

Cristiano Ronaldo has stated that the 2026 World Cup will be the final tournament of his World Cup career with Portugal, yet made clear that international retirement is not coming now, as the captain prepares for a last-16 meeting with Spain in Dallas on Monday.

This World Cup has already brought several milestones for Ronaldo, who is taking part in a sixth edition of the tournament, a men’s record he shares with Lionel Messi, while the Argentina captain was the first to reach that total at earlier finals.

Against Croatia, in a dramatic 2-1 victory, Ronaldo became the first player aged 41 or older to appear in a World Cup knockout match, and converted a penalty to equalise, his third goal of these finals and his first strike in the knockout rounds after 31 attempts across his long tournament career.

Ronaldo has also become the first male player to score in six different World Cups and now has 10 goals at the tournament overall, which is the highest total for any Portugal player and moves Ronaldo one ahead of Eusebio, who previously held the outright national record with nine.

Before facing Spain, Ronaldo confirmed that this World Cup marks his final appearance at the competition. Yes, it’s my last one [World Cup], he said. Let’s go and enjoy it. When questioned whether that decision would also mean stepping away from Portugal duty altogether, Ronaldo responded with a strong defence of personal choice.

I will retire when I want, not when you want. Whether I play or I stay on the bench, the influence will not change. I am not the player I used to be, but I am not doing too bad. I keep scoring goals. If I can’t score, it will be another team-mate to score, and we hope to go to the next round. The mission is to advance, not for me to score.

Ronaldo remains Portugal’s record scorer at international level with 146 goals, and across club and national-team competitions has reached 976 goals, leaving Ronaldo in pursuit of the 1,000-goal mark while still contributing in major tournaments despite the constant focus on age and selection.

Ronaldo argued that debate over his role has followed almost his entire career. It’s been like this since I was 18; it is not going to change, he added. I always put body and soul [into] trying to get our goalsplaying or not playing, I will always have an important role to play. As I said before, I will stop when I choose, not when you choose. You always ask the same question. I don’t want to draw attention to this because it is less important. People question me starting at 41? You have been trying to kill me for the past 23 years. But you must have seen that is not worth it, it’s a waste of time, but you try and try and try and try and try. I am so used to this. I even say thanks for the attacks I feel after I turned 40 the criticism is how you grow, so thank you for doing this. I am not going to be more Cristiano Ronaldo or less because I win the World Cup. Age gives you maturity and experience to see how relative things can be.

Cristiano Ronaldo World Cup Portugal rivalry with Spain

Ronaldo’s history against Spain is long, dating back to Euro 2004, and since that first meeting Ronaldo has scored four times against Spain across all competitions, which is the joint-highest tally versus that opponent, level with Eduardo Vargas, including a World Cup hat-trick in 2018.

Spain and Portugal have faced each other five times at major tournaments, including both European Championships and World Cups, with three of those matches ending level and one victory each, while the last knockout tie between the neighbours came in the Euro 2012 semi-finals, when Spain advanced on penalties after a goalless draw.

Ronaldo stated that winning or losing the World Cup will not define personal status, while age has brought a greater sense of perspective, yet the immediate focus remains on helping Portugal progress beyond the last-16, whether starting or coming from the bench, in what will be Ronaldo’s final World Cup campaign.