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Ronaldo set for more World Cup history as 41-year-old headlines Portugal's squad
Cristiano Ronaldo is set to make more history as he prepares to represent Portugal at a World Cup for the sixth time this summer.
Cristiano Ronaldo is set to play at his sixth World Cup for Portugal after being included in Roberto Martinez's 27-man squad for this summer's tournament.
Ronaldo is the only man to have scored in five separate World Cup tournaments, and should he feature in the 2026 edition, he would become the first player in history – potentially alongside Lionel Messi – to appear in six World Cups.
The 41-year-old has made 22 appearances at the World Cup, the most of any Portugal player, while he has scored eight goals at the tournament, one fewer than Eusebio's national record.
Ronaldo has made 226 appearances for Portugal and is their record goalscorer, with 143.
Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes has also been included in the squad, along with Manchester City stars Bernardo Silva, Ruben Dias and Matheus Nunes.
Paris Saint-Germain midfield duo Vitinha and Joao Neves, as well as full-back Nuno Mendes, will also join the squad after the Champions League final on May 30.
Joao Palhinha, Mateus Fernandes, Ricardo Horta and Pedro Goncalves have missed out, with Ronaldo's Al-Nassr team-mate, Joao Felix, making the cut.
This will be Martinez’s third World Cup as a head coach – he guided Belgium to a third-place finish in 2018 before being knocked out in the group stages in 2022.
Indeed, he’s won 70% of his matches at the World Cup (7/10); only Tele Santana (80%), Didier Deschamps (74%) and Joachim Low (71%) have a better win rate among head coaches with 10+ games at the tournament.
Portugal’s best World Cup finish came 60 years ago, when they claimed third place in 1966.
Since then, their only other semi-final appearance was in 2006, where they were defeated by France before losing the third-place match to hosts Germany.
Portugal take on Chile and Nigeria in pre-tournament friendlies, before kicking off their World Cup campaign against DR Congo on June 17.
Portugal squad in full
Diogo Costa (Porto), Jose Sa (Wolves), Rui Silva (Sporting CP), Ricardo Velho (Genclerbirligi); Ruben Dias (Manchester City), Joao Cancelo (Barcelona), Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain), Nelson Semedo (Fenerbahce), Matheus Nunes (Manchester City), Goncalo Inacio (Sporting CP), Renato Veiga (Villarreal), Tomas Araujo (Benfica); Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Vitinha (PSG), Joao Neves (PSG), Ruben Neves (Al-Hilal), Samu Costa (Mallorca); Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nassr), Rafael Leao (AC Milan), Joao Felix (Al-Nassr), Goncalo Ramos (PSG), Pedro Neto (Chelsea), Francisco Conceicao (Juventus), Goncalo Guedes (Real Sociedad), Francisco Trincao (Sporting CP).













