Inside the home of Houston’s world-famous rodeo, Cristiano Ronaldo enters the last-chance saloon. His sixth World Cup will, with no little thanks to Fifa’s munificence, begin on Wednesday against the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and one of international football’s longest-running soap operas begins winding towards its denouement. Portugal have rarely looked better equipped to grant him the crowning achievement of his career and the question, as ever, concerns who is carrying whom.
One assumption seems reasonable: Ronaldo could wield a huge influence over the trophy’s ultimate destination. It remains to be seen whether that is channelled positively. Portugal can field arguably the best first-choice midfield in this summer’s competition, an experienced defence and an admirable array of wide forwards. At the heart of their attack stands, depending on your perspective, either a free-scoring icon primed to fire them all the way or a 41-year-old passenger whose presence sucks an otherwise fluent team into an inescapable void.
Ronaldo more closely resembled the latter back at Euro 2024, signing off with a mind-numbingly static performance in the quarter-final against France. At the World Cup in Qatar, Portugal cut loose when he was dropped in the last 16 and scored six against Switzerland. His last consequential interventions at a major tournament were a pair of penalties against France at Euro 2020 and it seems a gigantic stretch to believe he can turn the clock back this time around.
Yet there will be something magnetic about the spectacle either way. Fifa ensured that would be true of Wednesday’s game when its disciplinary committee decided to suspend the final two games of a three-match ban he had picked up in the qualifying defeat to the Republic of Ireland. A box-office occasion is guaranteed under the closed roof in south-east Texas, which is on flood watch until Thursday after a number of biblical downpours in the past two days.
Will the goals run dry for Ronaldo? “He’s probably one of the best players in football history,” said the DRC’s coach, Sébastien Desabre. “It’s a challenge for our defenders and, when it comes to set pieces, he is one of the best.” Whether intentionally or not he had identified that open play tends, at levels higher than the Saudi Pro League, to be a tougher matter for Ronaldo nowadays. He will need to lean on teammates who, in their public utterances, remain deferential.
“I never imagined playing with Cristiano, it’s a huge honour to be here with him,” said Matheus Nunes, the Manchester City utility player. “Everyone knows what a great figure he is. If we can win the title for him, it would be something very big.” Speaking on Wednesday evening, Bruno Fernandes repeated the word “honour” when asked about the prospect of accompanying Ronaldo once again. He pointed out that Euro 2004, in which Ronaldo played, was the first tournament he watched as a boy.
To some extent both men were paying lip service to journalists’ questions but Portugal, while satisfying the craving of a nation, would delight in adorning their greatest ever sportsman. The task for Roberto Martínez is to ensure the heavy focus on Ronaldo, who managed five goals during the qualifiers in games against Hungary and Armenia, provides liberation for others rather than a millstone.
“It’s his sixth World Cup but I can tell you that, internally, it feels like his first when it comes to intensity, emotions and how important it is to be ready,” said Martínez, who did not address reports that he would stand down after the tournament, save to note his contract expires in July. “He’s essential to the team, he’s the striker, the killer, he can open up space for other players and he’s got excellent numbers.”
Martínez is banking on the Ronaldo who, it is worth pointing out, scored six times against tough opposition on Portugal’s victorious Nations League run in 2024-25. Every element will need optimising if that run is to continue and it was a blow when, on Sunday, their training session was cancelled because of storms around their base near Miami.
There was a further ripple in their preparations when the team drew criticism back home for spending time at a private beach by their hotel. It is important to have “those relaxed moments that are going to be good for the overall experience”, Fernandes said. Rúben Dias, who trained alone after picking up an unspecified injury, is unlikely to be risked against the DRC.
By Wednesday the gaze will be back on Ronaldo, who will play in the US for the first time since August 2014. It has been a long time coming but anyone in Houston unable to afford the cheapest resale tickets for the start of his final fling, which were priced at £929 ($1,247) on Tuesday evening, has alternative options.
One of the features of this World Cup is that local sport simply goes on, occupying a largely parallel universe. The Houston Astros will begin their Major League Baseball game against Detroit Tigers at Daikin Park, seven miles away, around the time Portugal and the DRC kick off the second half and prices start at the equivalent of £4.58 ($6.15). It remains to be seen whether Ronaldo, cleared by football’s authorities to provide the day’s shot of celebrity stardust, is capable of justifying the difference in outlay.