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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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Mexico and South Africa kicked off the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Thursday, with El Tri leaving the historic Estadio Azteca with an electric 2-0 win.
Julian Quinones knocked through the first goal of the tournament to put Mexico up 1-0 just nine minutes into the match, before star striker Raul Jimenez made it 2-0 in the 67th minute.
But while Mexico took to the streets to celebrate their win, and the rest of the tournament field prepared for their opening matches, another storyline came to the surface for one of the World Cup favorites, Portugal.
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ESPN's Ryan O'Hanlon used one stat to argue how this could be Team USA's World Cup. But with it, the more concerning revelation is what it means for Seleção das Quinas.
O'Hanlon noted how no player over the age of 40 has ever won a World Cup.
Cristiano Ronaldo turned 41 in February.
The oldest player to win a World Cup was Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff, who won it in 1982 at exactly 40 years old.
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Ronaldo is heading into his sixth World Cup, along with Argentina legend and arch rival Lionel Messi and Mexican goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, with all three set to share a record of tournament selections.
For a player as decorated as CR7, the World Cup is the one trophy that has eluded him. Messi picked up his first winner’s medal in Qatar at 35, and will turn 39 on June 24.
At 41, and having said this will be his final World Cup, Ronaldo faces what is expected to be his last chance to claim his winner's medal.
However, over the last two decades, Ronaldo has made a career out of proving everybody wrong.
Within the past year, he passed the 970 mark for career goals, extending his record as the all-time leading scorer, and scored 28 goals and provided two assists in 30 league starts for his current club, Al‑Nassr, the Saudi Arabian champions.
He's also Portugal's all-time leading scorer with 143 career goals, and scored five goals in five World Cup Qualifying matches in 2025.
In other words, Ronaldo has shown no signs of slowing down, and this is arguably the most complete Portugal team he's been a part of.
With Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha, Rafael Leao, Nuno Mendes, Joao Neves, Bernardo Silva, and of course, Ronaldo, this team is absolutely stacked.
But Father Time is also undefeated, and history will be working against him this time around.
Portugal opens Group K on June 17 against DR Congo, followed by Uzbekistan on June 23, both in Houston, and then finishes off against Colombia on June 27 in Miami.
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