Portugal have one of the more navigable World Cup groups this summer.
Admittedly, Colombia will pose a threat to the European powerhouse. They should make light work of DR Congo when they face the African nation this week. Tournament debutants Uzbekistan are unlikely to pose much of a threat.
Roberto Martinez’s men should feel confident about going to the distance. However, there is one key reason why they may fail to win the World Cup. This despite boasting one of the strongest squads at the competition. Bruno Fernandes comes into the tournament on the back of his history-making season. He registered 21 assists, a Premier League record.
Joao Neves and Vitinha feature on the back of their Champions League success over Arsenal. Rafael Leao, Bernardo Silva, Nuno Mendes and Ruben Dias are all top-quality players at Martinez’s disposal. There is, though, a Cristiano Ronaldo-shaped elephant in the room.
In this article, we’ll cover:
Ronaldo chasing down 1,000-goal landmark
Ronaldo will lead the line for Portugal this summer. The 41-year-old shouldn’t even be available for looming meetings with DR Congo and Uzbekistan. And yet, two of his three-match ban following his dismissal against Republic of Ireland in November have been suspended for a year.
While the availability of a player chasing down 1000 career goals would be a boost for any nation, for Ronaldo; his availability is a hindrance rather than a help. Portugal won their two pre-tournament friendlies as they beat Chile and Nigeria. Yet, few remember the scoreline. Rather, the focus has been on Ronaldo’s comical misses.
A one-on-one he’d normally score, a header he inadvertently sent into row-z, a missed chance when a teammate was in acres of space to score. These have been the biggest takeaways from Portugal’s pre-World Cup victories. That in itself is a concern for Portugal. They need to do everything in their power to avoid placating Ronaldo in North America.
Portugal captain’s dire Euro 2024 campaign
Portugal’s Euro 2024 showing should have proven a pre-cursor into the how ineffective they are when they continue with Ronaldo as the main man. It was a tournament where only Kylian Mbappe (24) had more shots than the experienced striker (23). The difference being was that Mbappe actually scored at the Euros.
Ronaldo failed to hit the back of the net once. Given the quality of the chances he was presented with, Ronaldo should have scored at least three goals. An xG underperformance of 3.6 was the biggest of its kind in Germany two years ago. This includes a penalty miss in an eventual shootout victory over Slovenia. This should have been proof enough that Ronaldo’s horse had run its race.
And yet, 24 months later, and we’re on the cusp of Portugal’s World Cup campaign, and Ronaldo is set to lead the charge in 2026.
Elite striker options limited
Admittedly, Martinez is somewhat hamstrung by a lack of striker options. Goncalo Ramos will act as Ronaldo’s backup this summer. The 24-year-old, who exploded onto the scene in Qatar with his hat-trick against Switzerland in 2022, struggled for consistent game time with Paris Saint-German last season.
Ramos scored six league goals in PSG’s 2025-26 Ligue 1 success. He netted just three times across 13 starts, and two of those came against relegated Metz. The likes of Joao Felix and Goncalo Guedes struggle as the lead frontman in a 4-3-3 setup. A lack of options on the frontline means Martinez essentially needs to turn to Ronaldo.
So, for Portugal to ultimately win the World Cup this summer, they’ll need to ensure Ronaldo isn’t at the heart of every attacking move. They did so at Euro 2024, and crashed out in the quarter-finals to France, failing to score a knockout goal in the process.
Portugal boast one of the strongest teams in North America and there is ample quality running through the squad. And while Ronaldo enjoyed a fine 2025-26 Saudi Pro League season, scoring 28 goals on their way to domestic success, the league itself is a step below international football’s showpiece competition.
That’s been painstakingly obvious in their pre-tournament friendlies. Portugal can ill-afford to underestimate DR Congo. Even so, they should get the job done against the Leopards. It’ll be a far more straight-forward clash if they don’t rely on Ronaldo to fire them to all three points.
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