Ronaldo confirms his last World Cup — but leaves his international future open
After a 1-0 loss to Spain in Dallas, Ronaldo says goodbye to the World Cup but won't rule out continuing with Portugal: 'I won't make any hasty decisions.'
The World Cup is over for Cristiano Ronaldo. Portugal's captain confirmed it in no uncertain terms after the 1-0 defeat to Spain in the round of sixteen in Dallas — a Mikel Merino goal in stoppage time that finally extinguished the oldest dream in Portuguese football.
But his international future? That chapter has not been closed.
"I leave with a clear conscience," Ronaldo told the press. "I won't make any hasty decisions." At 41, with 233 caps and 23 years of history wearing the Portugal shirt, he walked off the pitch emotional — and in no rush to provide answers.
The legacy is undeniable. Ronaldo is the only player to have scored at six World Cups. Before him, Portugal had won nothing. The Euro 2016 title, by his own account, carries the same weight as a world championship. "For me, 2016 has the same dimension," he said.
On the Spanish side, the machine keeps rolling. Golmetria's model gives Spain a 30% chance of lifting the trophy — the highest of any country still in the competition — and the market also sees them as favourites.
Portugal, for their part, have packed their bags. The question that lingers is not only about Ronaldo: it is about what comes after him. A side that has relied so heavily on his genius will need, sooner or later, to find a new way forward.
The 2026 World Cup may have been Ronaldo's final chapter on football's greatest stage. But the last page of his story with Portugal? That one, he has yet to write.