Portugal coach Roberto Martinez: ‘No one should doubt’ Cristiano Ronaldo could play 2030 World Cup

LISBON – With Cristiano Ronaldo set to be 45 when Portugal co-hosts the 2030 World Cup alongside Spain and Morocco, one might think it is unlikely that he will be in the squad for what would be his seventh World Cup.

But do not tell that to Portugal coach Roberto Martinez.

“No one should doubt that (he could play in 2030),” Martinez said on May 28 in an appearance on Cadena SER radio. “He’s earned it.”

Ronaldo, who made his debut for Portugal at 18 in August 2003, is comfortably the country’s leader in all-time appearances (226, 80 more than Joao Moutinho) and goals (143, 96 more than Pauleta).

The 41-year-old led Portugal to the 2016 European Championship and to a fourth-place finish at the 2006 World Cup, the country’s best finish at the quadrennial since a third-place showing in 1966.

A penalty against Ghana at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar made him the first male player to score at five different World Cups.

Ronaldo and Argentina’s Lionel Messi are set to become the first players in history to appear in six World Cups at this summer’s event. Guillermo Ochoa could also join that list but Mexico’s final squad have yet to be announced.

“I have worked with many players that have won a Champions League or a Ballon d’Or and the next day they lose their appetite. What we have with Ronaldo is an example of a different mentality,” Martinez said.

“I believe that having that goal is what allows for longevity. Of course, there is a genetic aspect, the work he puts in – he uses everything that can help his body – and his mentality.”

Ronaldo is the leading men’s international goalscorer with 143. With 16 of those coming in 23 games under Martinez, the coach insists that he is being selected for the 2026 World Cup on merit rather than because of his status.

Despite this, Portugal’s pressing suffers with Ronaldo and the team can appear more cohesive without him. When Ronaldo starts, sometimes it seems as if the team work largely to service him.

The forward even came in for rare criticism in his protective homeland after he was sent off against Ireland for an elbow in qualifying, although FIFA let him off the hook by suspending two matches of his ban, meaning he is clear to play from the start of the World Cup.

Meanwhile, coach of fellow contenders France, Didier Deschamps, warned against overconfidence ahead of his side’s bid to win a second World Cup in three editions.

Deschamps’ team have reached the final of the last two tournaments, lifting the trophy in 2018 before losing on penalties to Argentina in 2022.

Led by star forward Kylian Mbappe, they are one of the favourites for victory at the June 11-July 19 tournament in North America.

“It’s a major event. Some people think we’re already at July 19 – I don’t much like that, in fact not at all,” Deschamps told reporters on May 29 at France’s Clairefontaine base near Paris.

“Yes, we’re one of the best teams, but I know all too well that there are some important steps to take before thinking about those heights. We’ll do everything to get there.”

Deschamps, 57, is bidding to bow out in style after 14 years at the Les Bleus helm.

He guided France to the World Cup quarter-finals in his first tournament as coach in 2014, and two years later they reached the European Championship final on home soil.

Since then, France have reached two World Cup finals and a Euro semi-final, making Deschamps one of the most successful coaches in the national team’s history.

However, Goldman Sachs believes it will be Luis de la Fuente who will be the victorious coach in North America.

Their economists have run the numbers on the World Cup and concluded that Spain are the most likely to come up tops.

“Our prediction aligns with the historical pattern that the World Cup almost always comes back to Europe after having been won by a South American team,” Goldman economists led by Jan Hatzius wrote in a note on May 29.

Goldman’s statistical model showed Spain with a 26 per cent probability of winning the 2026 tournament.

The analysis combined historical match data, team rankings, scoring talent and geographic factors to forecast the tournament’s outcome. The model relies heavily on Elo ratings – a system originally created for chess, which measures team strength based on results and opponent quality.
REUTERS, AFP, BLOOMBERG