PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — It would have been unthinkable at the start of the 2022 World Cup to suggest Cristiano Ronaldo was anything other than the undisputed leader of the Portugal team.
But the Qatar edition went poorly for Portugal’s all-time leading goal scorer. After scoring just once, from the penalty spot, in the group stage, he reacted angrily to being subbed off against South Korea and was promptly dropped to the bench for his team's
first knockout-stage match against Switzerland.
Then, he didn’t score at all in the 2024 European Championship. It was the first time he had failed to find the net at a major international tournament.
Now, in the buildup to what may be Ronaldo’s World Cup swan song, concerns over what the 41-year-old can still bring to the national team are at the forefront of many fans’ minds. Portugal opens play Wednesday against Congo DR in Houston.
“I think in some instances they play better without him,” fan Zach Mallias said at the team’s first open World Cup practice at its Florida base camp. “There are other players that fit the system better.”
Other fans are worried about the superstar’s ego and whether he would accept relinquishing the spotlight for the good of the team.
“He’s a very big player, he’s very loved by a lot of his fans,” Beatrice Mitankin said. “It might get to his head.”
There is some recent evidence, however, of Ronaldo still being able to positively influence games. During Portugal’s 2025 UEFA Nations League run, its second title triumph in that competition, he scored eight goals, including an equalizer in the final against Spain.
Ronaldo also recently won his first Saudi Pro League title with Al-Nassr, leading his club with 28 goals on the season.
His abundant experience and leadership are qualities some supporters say cannot be replicated.
“He’s not going to shy away from those moments when it’s the World Cup on the line,” Rob Stickle said. “He’s one of those guys you want kicking the penalty kicks for you, being on the pitch at the end of the game.”
Ronaldo, playing in a record-extending sixth World Cup, is the oldest outfield player in the tournament but still projects as Portugal’s starting striker.
Although his age has repeatedly been called into question, fan Ernesto Vilar pointed to other examples of older players, like Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Croatia’s Luka Modrić, as veterans who still play significant roles for their team.
“Age is just a number,” Vilar said. “He’s still in very peak physical condition.”
His teammates and manager would concur.
Midfielder Vitinha is still in awe over Ronaldo’s physique.
“He’s 41. I’m 26, and I’m not like that,” the Paris Saint-Germain player said through a translator. “It’s something incredible.”
Team manager Roberto Martínez has suggested Ronaldo could even appear at the 2030 World Cup, when he would be 45.
Removed from the conversation about Ronaldo’s production and effectiveness, however, are a group of fans that will always idolize him: young children. Many showed up to watch Portugal practice.
Elizabeth Stiebel, 10, says she admires how Ronaldo has always been there when his team needs a big moment.
And 13-year-old Christian Loureiro, whose favorite Ronaldo moment is his overhead-kick goal against Juventus in 2018 while playing for Real Madrid, agrees the superstar forward is still a steadying voice.
“A lot of young players on this team need an older figure to help guide them,” Loureiro said.
__
Zach Pascuzzi is a student in the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.
__
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
