Last chance.. Ronaldo is chasing a dream achieved by Messi

Cristiano Ronaldo heads into a record sixth World Cup of his career, backed by a formidable group of talented teammates, as Portugal aims to win the world title for the first time in its history.
Spanish coach Roberto Martinez’s team is considered the most prominent candidate to reach the next round of Group 11, as it faces the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Uzbekistan team participating for the first time, before the most difficult test against Colombia.
It is expected that Ronaldo and his historical rival Lionel Messi will write a new chapter in history, when they will participate in six editions of the World Cup, but the former is still chasing his dream at a time when Messi achieved it in the last edition.
Since Portugal finished fourth in the 2006 edition, which was Ronaldo’s first appearance, the team has rarely posed a real threat to the title, despite being the team’s all-time top scorer with 143 goals.
The presence of Ronaldo, who has reached the age of 41, has become seen as a key factor that prevented Portugal from exploiting its full potential in recent tournaments.
The Saudi Al-Nasr striker did not score any goal in the last nine matches he played in the World Cup and European Cup combined.
In fact, Ronaldo was even removed from the starting lineup by coach Fernando Santos during the 2022 World Cup, in favor of Goncalo Ramos.
However, Martinez has shown absolute loyalty to Ronaldo, and he has justification for that, as he scored in the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final when Portugal beat Spain on penalties to win the European Nations League title last year.
Ronaldo also scored five goals in five qualifying matches, before being sent off against the Republic of Ireland.
He was lucky not to be suspended for more than one match.
Martinez’s insistence on relying on Ronaldo also reveals the lack of other reliable attacking options.
Portugal’s real strength lies in having arguably the best midfield in the World Cup.
This line includes the French duo of Paris Saint-Germain, Vitinha and Joao Neves, in addition to the best player in the English Premier League, Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva.

Diaz is Colombia’s new star
Colombia is led by veteran star James Rodriguez, 12 years after the tournament that made him a global star.
Despite his itinerant and largely ineffective career at the club level in recent years, James (34 years old) is still a key element in a team that reached the Copa America final two years ago, and finished the South American qualifiers in third place.
Luis Diaz has become the most prominent star of Los Cafeteros, and he reaches the World Cup after the best season of his career at club level with German Bayern Munich.
Tickets for Colombia’s matches were among the most sought after in the tournament, and the team is sure to enjoy great public support from fans coming from abroad and resident communities.
This makes the task of Uzbekistan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo more difficult in trying to upset the expectations of the group’s two major candidates.
Manchester City defender Abdulkader Khosanov is the most prominent name in the Uzbekistan squad, which relies mostly on locally active players.
However, the Uzbek bench includes unique World Cup experience with the presence of Fabio Cannavaro, the captain of Italy that won the World Cup in 2006.
As for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, it brings back memories of its only participation in the World Cup 52 years ago, when it was known as Zaire, and left Germany without a single point or goal scored.