Ruben Dias Shares Portugal’s Ambitions at 2026 World Cup as Cristiano Ronaldo Is Set for Last Dance
- Ruben Dias has outlined Portugal’s ambitions at the 2026 FIFA World Cup as the tournament kicks off on June 11
- The Manchester City star is part of Portugal’s squad as the Roberto Martinez-led side aims to win their first Mundial
- Captain Cristiano Ronaldo is set for his sixth outing and potentially his last appearance at a FIFA World Cup
Ruben Dias has outlined Portugal’s ambitions at the 2026 FIFA World Cup as Cristiano Ronaldo is set for potentially his last dance at the tournament.
Portugal has never won the World Cup, and with Ronaldo, the team’s captain, set for potentially his last dance, the drive to win it has gone up.
Source: Getty Images
Ronaldo, at 41 years and 121 days old, is the second-oldest player at this year’s tournament and is playing in his sixth World Cup, a record he shares with Lionel Messi and Guillermo Ochoa, as noted by Fox Sports.
Former Belgium national team coach Roberto Martinez will lead the Selecao to the tournament with Ronaldo as captain and the focus of the group.
Dias shares Portugal’s ambitions
Manchester City defender Ruben Dias has opened up on what Portugal will focus on at the 2026 FIFA World Cup as the group aims for a great outing.
This tournament has an emotional undertone for the Iberians as some of their current group, including Ronaldo, will possibly play their final tournaments.
Dias admits that the World Cup is special for the players, their families and the fans, and he has a feeling this is going to be more special because of the long anticipation.
He outlined that Portugal’s main driving force is the will to win, and it spreads across the players and crew of the team, as it is a shared feeling among all.
“I feel like in every competition we've gone through, we've been progressing. We have many quality players. Also, we have a lot of players playing at the best level of football – that comes with dealing with the pressure, knowing what that pressure feels like,” he told FIFA.
“The feeling [of belief] will have to grow with the competition, with the feeling of confidence after every game, after every step, after every difficulty. So, we're humble about it, but we're more ambitious than ever.”
Source: Getty Images
Portugal’s last outing at the World Cup ended in a quarter-final elimination at the hands of Morocco, who became the first African country to reach the semi-final.
Their best outing at the tournament was a third-place finish in 1966 in England, and most recently a fourth-place finish in the 2006 edition in Germany.
Scaloni names favourites to win World Cup
Legit.ng previously reported that Lionel Scaloni named the 10 favourite countries he expects to challenge for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The Argentina national team manager picked his team and nine others, including South America rival Brazil, Portugal, France, Spain and England, as likely winners.
Source: Legit.ng
