Topic: FIFA World Cup 2026 :Canada/Mexico/United States: Discussion Thread - page 96. (Read 62822 times)

I also don't think there is a single player in Argentina or Portugal who has the capacity to replace our two GOATs at the moment. These two players are an example of what a football player looks like at the peak. One is called "the machine" because of its incredible consistency and super hard training. The other is called "alien" because it is endowed with a natural will that may only appear once every 100 years. Both are the goals of all footballers in the world. I think the young players from Portugal and Argentina are very lucky to be able to play with them. And I think they both still deserve to be called upon to be a motivation for young players.

Even now, Portugal is a one man team led by Ronaldo. During the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the coach (Fernando Santos) experimented by benching Ronaldo and giving chances to some of the younger players. It didn't worked well and in the end they lost the match to Morocco and were kicked out from the tournament. And it's not like they don't have any promising younger players. They have quite a few of them, such as João Félix, Gonçalo Ramos, Rafael Leão and Pedro Neto. But none of these players are capable of replacing Ronaldo.

I like your post because we are about to define an entire team that only replaces Ronaldo...

Maybe Portugal should send a request to the FIFA association asking them to allow for more players on the pitch because they will soon have to replace Ronaldo.

I mean, Portugal won the European Championship in the past. In Qatar they were too unpredictable, no consistency. They lost against Morocco in the quarterfinals though, which I think can happen to any team as Morocco was this one surprise team that was about to achieve the impossible. Since they kicked out Spain in the round of 16, I think it is not a nightmare to lose against them although Portugal should have been warned.

But I agree that they should still be counted as a top team that has all chances.

op I agree with you. Messi is the number 1 player in the world, his only shortcoming was not winning the World Cup, which was also filled by the Argentina team in the 2022 World Cup. So Messi should retire from the team as he is getting older day by day so Argentina has many young players who will get a chance to play well in Argentina national team. By doing this, the Argentinian players will be able to perform well. But no one can replace Messi. Messi is definitely a quality player. No one in the world can replace Messi, but due to his age, he should retire with respect so that Argentina team relies on young players.

Cristiano Ronaldo's physical form and decision-making really surprises me to this day, his power to always stay focused and bring out the best is incredible, he really is different and one of the great names in the history of football...

Playing at a high level at an advanced age I still believe that it is a genetic fact and also as was the history of injuries throughout his career, there is another player who played until he was 40 years old and with a physical shape well above normal, I don't know if you remember him.. Zé Roberto, played in the German championship at Bayen

If we sum up his physical characteristics + his insane motivation to play throughout his entire career and even beyond (for most football players, their career ends at 35, but not for Ronaldo), then it’s definitely less than in 100 years 
Felix can replace Ronaldo in midfield (I agree that he is unstable), Ramos can replace Ronaldo as a center forward, and Leao can replace him as a winger... but no one can replace him in all positions at once 
But in general, I believe that Portugal has sufficient variety of players and a qualified coach will have no problem putting together any formation he wants from them. Whether Ronaldo will be here or not is not so important (although of course I would like him to appear at least as a substitute at the next World Cup).

The performance a d strength is what the age factor do attack first before any other factors around the player because with almost every humans, it's normal to loose strength as age comes on them before their physical appearance would then show the effects of the age telling on them, so they will definitely not be able to perform like before.

The players may be trying to keep fit by carrying out routine training but then they will still not be as effective as they were when they were much younger so it's a general thing for players and not just their performance but even how well they will be productive and how well they will be contributing to the team will also be greatly affected and the team wouldn't want to be battling with having poor results when they have got players who could actually have helped them they will just have to sell off the old players and it's good for the old players to just resign.

Maybe not once in 100 years, but it is very rare indeed and there is nobody, especially from Portugal who could effectively replace him. I don't like Felix as much as his stats. The thing with Felix is that he is not 20 anymore and I thought that if he becomes an exceptional player, he should be one by now in terms of the goals and assists he has on average per game. From time to time he had a good phase, but then he entirely disappeared for a few weeks again and didn't do much on the pitch. Leão as a wing player can make a big difference for any team, but they do have a decent team in general. Fernandes of course.

They don't have one of these top strikers like France, but this doesn't mean they won't have a chance. Although having Ronaldo during his peak never hurt, but was never enough for them to win a World Cup either

I would say that Portugal has a pretty good attacking line (even if you don’t take Ronaldo into account): Ramos, Leão, Felix. With these players, the attack should solve all the issues. But if you are talking about replacing Ronaldo in terms of “finding exactly the same”, then this is simply ridiculous  Such players appear once every 100 years, maybe more often, but I think you yourself understand the likelihood that such a player will appear again in the Portuguese national team is not very high.

The thing is that we must also see that things with the last World Cup in Qatar were very bad for the Portuguese, and this even Lus Figo spoke out, the mistake was entirely the coach's at that time and he was a great friend of CR7, In fact, this is the date and CR7 still hasn't spoken to him, according to the coach they remain very sad, but no matter how you are going to leave a star like him on the bench, that is something that has no logic at all, for me these bears are unforgivable, how they are going to use him as if he were a new player and that he has not shown himself, both he and Ten Hag showed a total disrespect towards him and well karma is something that happens, for the MU it is going badly, no They have won absolutely nothing, and they are in the PL, which is the strongest League of all, and for the Portuguese national team for that period, it cost them the exit, so it is not a strategy, it is the whims of these coaches to show that they are not wrong and the truth was they were very wrong.

In this aspect, the new coach of Portugal does not want to have any blame, he knows and understands the fame and the entire category of CR7, this means that things can be different, and because of the way things are, he does not know. He is going to bring down an entire country so that they are reproaching him for the loss of his team, how do you say No to a GFigo? How do you say no to great players who are famous and successful? That doesn't make sense, in fact I'm sure that when CR7 retires he can be back in football as a coach, that's what I'm sure of.

For me CR7 should not and does not have to get injured, because that man is going to give everything on the field and I think he will be the example for everyone, if he manages to do it and get very far wow I think he will give everyone a nasty push, And if Portugal wins the World Cup it will silence more than one out there, I hope there is a meeting between Messi and CR7, the final one.

The thing is Portugal still has not been able to find a good replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo. That is why I think that Ronaldo might play in the next World Cup. If by that time they can find any replacement, maybe it will be different. But until they actually find a good replacement I don't think they have any other options.

Cristiano Ronaldo could have done a lot in the last World Cup as well if he actually got the chance and if women didn't come forward with sexual assault relegation against him. There were a multitude of reasons why he was not given a chance in the last World Cup but his not playing well was not one of them.

He is still passionate about playing football, so that is what makes him continue to work hard, especially in maintaining his fitness. At his current age, his physique is still in prime condition because of his hard work. The reason is that we see a lot of players whose age seems like their physical condition has started to decline and many are no longer ideal.
I don't know whether he will take part in the next World Cup or not, what is clear is that up to now he is still influential in the club he plays for. Even though his speed is not what it used to be, he is still very good at finishing as an attacker.
The only title he has yet to win is the World Cup title, and maybe he will try to get it again at the next World Cup.
Until now there has been no news that he will retire in the near future, which means maybe he still wants to play in the World Cup with the Portuguese national team.

The difference between Ronaldo and Messi is about their talents and the hard work they do. Messi is definitely more talented and got a better situation than Ronaldo but he could have a good performance while at an older age like Ronaldo. But Ronaldo is doing hard work and he is trying much more than Messi, Ronaldo wasn't to be the winner no matter where he plays.
Unfortunately, he couldn't get the World Cup title yet, but I think he is going to play in the next World Cup in 2026.

Well, it is normal that a player would play in a lower league a lot better compared to a better league. However, we need to remember that Ronaldo wasn't "that" bad when he played lastly for United as well.

It has to be realized that he wasn't as good as he used to be of course, we are talking about a dude who was 36 years old or something if I remember right, so of course he wouldn't be as good. But he wasn't terrible neither, he could still be very well a great bench striker who got in at 70th minute and helped with the score when needed. This type of player could be good enough to play even when he is 40 years old. Lets see what happens but I see him as an amazing bench player for Portugal even at 2026 as well.

Even though their performance is not the same as in their prime, Ronaldo and Messi can make a difference for their national team. As you said, playing in a tournament like the World Cup certainly requires a very strong mentality. You are watched by almost half the world's population. Whatever you do in the field will be recorded by the media and history. So in stressful situations like that Ronaldo and Messi can provide strength and motivation for young players to overcome fear and doubt. Ronaldo and Messi don't have to play the full game, they can save the team from pressure and difficult situations in the match.

That's right, he is definitely someone you can't just leave out of the squad, just the idea that he would be on that roster makes everyone else play better, even without him playing. That's what others do not understand, in Argentina people worship him like he is a god, they did so to Maradonna as well, and now they do it to Messi. They just play better knowing that they would make him proud, think about how much that means to a team, everyone would give their 100% if Messi wants them to, and that would make the team a lot better.

If you leave him out, then you are going to upset Messi and if you upset Messi then its going to mean that other players will dislike the situation and not play with their 100% neither.

Portugal national team head coach Roberto Martínez still give opportunity for Cristiano Ronaldo get regular position in national teams and answered becoming Portugal top scorer in Euro 2026 qualifier. I don't think has internal problem between Roberto Martínez and Cristiano Ronaldo regarding his consistency performance with Al Nassr, for FIFA World Cup 2026 seems not problem for Cristiano Ronaldo get one place regarding not injury and his perform well with Al Nassr.
Looking Cristiano Ronaldo physical I don't think much problem although he will over 41 years old and his level still the same with young players, no doubt with Ronaldo opportunity will be in Portugal squad for FIFA World Cup 2026.

Cristiano Ronaldo will definitely be in the squad for the 2026 World Cup if he is not injured this time around. If he gets injured then his performance will be badly affected and the Portugal management may not consider him in the squad. Cristiano Ronaldo is in the game because he is still maintaining his fitness and playing well in the Saudi League.  

Not that stars like Messi and Ronaldo always have to perform at their best, but when they are with the team, the team gets a different courage and the team players are more active. Other young players can't finish like Messi and Ronaldo, and they can play under pressure but other players can't. So I think even if Cristiano Ronaldo is 41 years old, he will play the 2026 World Cup.

I don't agree that Messi is still the best player, you maybe mean Messi is the best player in the world which is totally wrong but if you mean Messi is the best player in Argentina I still think that's not tight because in Argentina there are many their younger players than Messi and if they get a chance they can even have better performance than him since he is getting old and that's why he should think about getting retired even before the world cup.

What makes Ronaldo special and different from other players is that Ronaldo is really hardworking and very consistent. There are not many players with that kind of determination. So I think Ronaldo will still be called up to the 2026 World Cup and will probably be one of the oldest strikers to appear at the 2026 World Cup. Even though his performance is no longer the same as in his prime, Ronaldo is the same as Messi. They can make a difference and improve the morale of other young players. I still remember when Ronaldo encouraged Joao Felix when he was about to take a penalty at Euro 2016 and that really boosted Joao Felix's morale so he could take the penalty with confidence.