Will the national team with Ronaldo be able to win the World Cup? What is known about the Portuguese team

The Portuguese national team, led by Roberto Martinez, will start on June 17 at the FIFA World Cup (2026 World Cup) with a match against the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Cristiano Ronaldo, at the age of 41, is preparing to play at his sixth World Cup, and the Portuguese, according to the Opta supercomputer, are among the top six favorites of the tournament with a 7% chance of winning. At the same time, it has already been announced that head coach Roberto Martinez will leave his post at the end of the tournament, regardless of the result. All the details are in the Izvestia article.

Group K and match schedule

The World Cup draw sent Portugal to Group K, where the teams of DR Congo, Uzbekistan and Colombia became its rivals. This group is considered relatively favorable for the Portuguese, although Colombia remains a formidable opponent in the fight for first place.

In the first round, Martinez's team will face the African team in Houston (USA) on June 17, and the match itself will begin at 20:00 Moscow time. The second opponent of the "chosen team" will be Uzbekistan under the leadership of Fabio Cannavaro. The match is scheduled for June 23 at 20:00 Moscow time and will also be held in the United States. In the final round of the group stage, the Portuguese will play Colombia on June 28. The game will start at 02:30 Moscow time in Miami.

The path to the World Cup Finals

The Portuguese national team confidently qualified for the World Cup, scoring four wins in six matches. The Portuguese also drew with Hungary (2:2) and lost only once to the national team of Ireland on the road (0:2). The goal difference of the team was 20:7. Portugal's top scorer in the qualifying tournament was Ronaldo, who scored five goals. Along the way, he also scored a double in the match against Hungary, thanks to which he became the absolute record holder for goals in World Cup qualifiers. In addition, the Portuguese national team won the UEFA Nations League in 2025, beating Spain in the final on penalties.

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National team composition and key players

Martinez included 26 players in the application. The cost of the Portuguese squad is estimated at €1.01 billion, which is the fourth highest among all participating teams. The main and most famous Portuguese player is undoubtedly Ronaldo. For the captain of the national team, this is most likely the last World Cup in his career and his last chance to close the most significant "gestalt" in his career — to lift the World Cup over his head.

However, there are many other global players in the "chosen team". Thus, PSG midfielders Vitinha and Joao Neves are estimated at 140 million euros each, according to the Transfermarkt portal. In addition, Martinez included Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes, who had one of the best seasons of his career, Saudi Al-Nasr striker Joao Feliz and PSG forward Gonzalo Ramos in the World Championship squad.

Ruben Diaz (Manchester City), Joao Cancelo (Barcelona) and Nuno Mendes (PSG) will play in the defensive line. Goalkeeper Diogo Costa from Porto will defend the goal. Portugal has one of the most complete and strong teams among all the participants in the world championship, each line contains players playing for the best clubs on the planet. This makes the Portuguese one of the main favorites of the World Cup, and Ronaldo has every chance of winning the main football trophy in the world.

Information about the national team

The Portuguese national team is taking part in the final stage of the World Cup for the ninth time. The best result of the Portuguese is the third place at the 1966 World Cup. In the 21st century, the team reached the semi-finals in 2006. Before the tournament, Martinez's team played a friendly match against Chile (June 6), winning 2-1. Gonzalo Guedes and Bruno Fernandes scored goals.