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Cristiano Ronaldo has taken to social media to celebrate Portugal's qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The national team captain was suspended for their final qualifier against Armenia, which they won 9-1 on Sunday, November 16.
Taking to Instagram, Ronaldo posted a picture of himself celebrating and one of the Portugal squad after the win over Armenia. He captioned it:
"WE ARE IN THE WORLD CUP! LET'S GO ALL OUT, PORTUGAL!"
The Portuguese superstar has already confirmed that the 2026 edition will be his final tournament. He pointed to his age as the key reason, hinting that he would have retired before the 2030 edition, and said (via BBC):
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"Definitely, yes. I will be 41 years old and I think [this] will be the moment in the big competition."
Cristiano Ronaldo spoke to Piers Morgan about the FIFA World Cup earlier this month, claiming that he does not see the tournament defining his career. He believes that not winning the trophy should not change his status in football and said:
"If you ask me, 'Cristiano, is it a dream to win the World Cup?' No, it's not a dream. To win the World Cup, nothing will change my name in the history of football, I'm not going to lie. One thing that I'm sure of [is] that I will enjoy the moment. The moment is the most important thing that we have. We are not qualified already. Enjoy the moment."
"In my mind, I'm not thinking in that way. Of course, you want to win, yeah. When you compete, you want to win... for me, [winning the World Cup] is not going to change the way I see things."
Cristiano Ronaldo will be suspended for the first match at the FIFA World Cup next summer. He was sent off against Ireland last week and was suspended for the 9-1 win over Armenia as well.
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo has been planning to play at the 2026 FIFA World Cup
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo admitted he had been planning for the FIFA World Cup since the summer, when he was in talks over a new deal with Al-Nassr. He said that it was the right decision to renew at the Saudi Pro League club, as he needed to take rest when possible to keep himself fit for the national team, and said (via ESPN):
"I had some offers to play [Club] World Cup but I think it didn't make sense because I prefer to have a good rest, a good preparation, because this season will be very long, because this is the season of the World Cup, at the end of the season. So I want to be ready not only for Al Nassr but also for the national team."
Cristiano Ronaldo signed a 2-year deal at Al-Nassr in the summer, and the Portugal captain will remain at the club until 2027.
