The countdown to the 2026 World Cup is on! Each day ahead of the tournament\u2019s return to North America, Yahoo Sports will highlight an insight or moment that showcases just how grand the world\u2019s biggest sporting spectacle has become \u2014 even beyond the expanded field of this year\u2019s global event.<\/p>\n
Cristiano Ronaldo says the end is near, just not before one more World Cup.<\/p>\n
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The Portuguese superstar said in November that the 2026 tournament in North America will be his final appearance on soccer\u2019s biggest stage. At 41, he’s ready to “enjoy” and “live” the moment when Portugal returns to the global spotlight this summer.<\/p>\n
If he makes the squad, which is more than likely if he\u2019s fully healthy, it would be Ronaldo\u2019s sixth World Cup, a run that stretches back to his debut in 2006.<\/p>\n
[Watch Yahoo Sports Network<\/a>]<\/p>\n Few players have shaped the game quite like Ronaldo. He\u2019s the men’s all-time leading goalscorer<\/a> in international soccer history with 143 goals and has been the face of Portugal\u2019s elite attack for two decades.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Portugal placed fourth in its first World Cup with Ronaldo in 2006 and has since reached the Round of 16 twice and exited in the group stage in 2014 and most recently the quarterfinals during the 2022 tournament.<\/p>\n While the World Cup trophy has eluded Ronaldo, he did help Portugal win the 2016 Euros with three goals in seven matches.<\/p>\n As his international career winds down, Ronaldo continues on the club level, but not for much longer, he said. After telling Piers Morgan that he would retire “soon”<\/a> in a recent interview, he said Tuesday “when I mean ‘soon’ it’s probably one, two years I’ll still be in the game.”<\/p>\n