The 2026 FIFA World Cup will have one less star moving into the quarter finals, and the tournament will be poorer for it.
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo is the only player on the planet mentioned in the same breath as Argentina’s Lionel Messi. France’s Kylian Mbappe is getting there.
For many, this was supposed to be Ronaldo’s tournament – achieving the one honour that has eluded him in a glittering career where he has won several honours such as the European Cup and Nations League with Portugal and club trophies with Manchester United, Real Madrid, and Juventus.
The punters will be disappointed. Playing in six World Cups over 20 years, Ronaldo’s exceptional skills are undeniable and the nation of Portugal trusted that they had the best chance if he was in the team. But as the latest tournament shows, his stamina level at 41 is unlikely to keep up for games which often go into extra-time.
At least, he is keeping his options open and hasn’t decided if he has played his final game for Portugal, after losing to Spain in the earlier game by a single goal.
His Brazilian counterpart Neymar, who is much younger at 34, crossed that bridge after losing to Norway earlier this week. Brazil’s all-time top goalscorer with 79 international goals said “I tried, I tried ... Now it’s over! I started here, I finished here,” referring to the stadium in New Jersey, where he made his Brazil debut in a friendly against the United States in 2010.
Sad for the World Cup to lose such exceptional talent even before the quarter finals.
But don’t rush to cancel your World Cup telecast subscriptions just yet!
In knocking out Brazil, Norway unveiled its own superstar – Erling Haaland who is just a few days shy of his 26th birthday and trails Messi by a solitary goal in the World Cup top scorers list at seven. By going into the quarter finals, Norway has gone the furthest than in any World Cup. England with Harry Kane and team is up next but Haaland will be a handful for any side.
Nothing surprising about who the other top scorers are – Messi with eight and Mbappe with seven.
Beyond Norway and perhaps England, the quarter finals are starting to have a familiar ring – France to meet Morocco; Argentina to meet Switzerland; and Spain to meet Belgium.
If the usual suspects of France, Argentina, Spain and maybe England make it to the semis – do we dare dream another France vs Argentina final? That will be for the history books as the same teams haven’t met in consecutive finals of the World Cup since it began in 1930.
