Ronaldo became the curse of the national team of Portugal: where flies a falling star

A thousand goals instead of a thousand doubts: why Portugal a 41-year-old captain who can't leave? Cristiano Ronaldo is back in the ranks, back in the spotlight and again not ready to give way to those who need this road.

On September 18, the Portuguese Football Federation announced the composition for the September-October matches of the Nations League of the season 2026/27, and the main news that eclipsed everything else was not the tactical decision of Roberto Martinez, the return of someone from the injured and the debut of a promising junior. The main news is that Cristiano Ronaldo is again on the list. At 41. After losing in the 1/8 world championship. After a public promise that the tournament was his last. Back at the base. Again in the role of the figure around which the entire structure of the national team is built. Why?

Before the first match of the Portuguese in the Nations League, the five-time winner of the Golden Ball, the striker of Saudi al-Nasra, voices the goal that any coach thinking about the future of the team should take his breath away: a thousand goals for his career. At the moment, the forward has 979 goals, of which 146 were scored for the national team and 833 at club level. Twenty-one goals remain to the coveted mark. Twenty-one goals, for which, apparently, the entire attacking philosophy of the Portuguese national team will once again be built. Ronaldo, however, hastened to assure the public that he has no obsession with numbers and personal records, that obsessions harm the result. But the very formulation of the question - two missions, a victory in the League of Nations and a personal anniversary goal in the same row - speaks of priorities more eloquent than any reservations.

Ellipses instead of points

At the 2026 World Cup, Portugal reached one-eighth final, where they lost to Spain with a minimum score of 0: 1. The Spaniards, recall, later won the title of world champions, which only emphasizes: the Portuguese flew not from a random opponent, but from the best team in the world. Ronaldo scored three goals in that tournament - a figure for the 41-year-old striker certainly respectful, but completely insufficient to justify his stay on the field in every match in the starting lineup until the middle of the minute (except one game) when players fifteen to twenty years younger languished on the bench.

Then, after relegation, Ronaldo declared the world championship his last. The story seemed to have a worthy ending. But it wasn't. The forward immediately made a reservation that the continuation of performances for the national team is not excluded. And on September 18, the federation confirmed his challenge to the matches of the League of Nations. The promise made to the fans and to himself turned out to be nothing more than a figure of speech convenient for post-match interviews.

Endless benefit

Portugal will hold four meetings in the upcoming international break: on 24 September at home against Wales, 27 September away from Norway, 1 October away from Denmark and 4 October at home against Norway. Four matches are clearly not enough to reach a thousand goals - unless rivals obligingly part ways before him. However, now each of these matches will be considered through the prism of one question: will the captain score or not score? Not through the prism of tournament strategy, not through the prism of playing bundles, not through the prism of preparing for future qualifying cycles. Through the prism of one person's personal record.

At the same time, Ronaldo holds the record for the number of goals in the history of national teams, European championships, the Champions League and club world championships. Five-time Champions League winner, 2016 European champion, two-time Nations League winner. The list of titles and achievements is such that he has not had to prove anything to anyone for a long time. Except myself. And yet the evidence continues. Match after match. Challenge after challenge.

A victim metaphor

In the same pre-tournament communication with the press, retold by As, Ronaldo compared the critical publications in his address with shotgun shots, stressing that he allegedly manages to dodge. He complained about the need to observe political correctness, which does not allow to be completely frank, and noted that this year he felt special warmth from others. At the same time, he acknowledged the existence of media outlets that, according to his formulation, are trying to destroy him.

Such rhetoric is convenient and has long been practiced. Any criticism turns into an attack, any doubt of its necessity on the pitch into a shotgun shot, any discussion of a forty-year-old taking the place of a twenty-year-old talent into a malicious campaign. At the same time, the critic himself remains in the position of someone who does not like a handful of people, and this handful, of course, is not able to hurt him. Perfect construction: there is criticism, but it does not matter. The question is asked, but no answer is required.

Young people waiting

The head coach of the Portuguese national team, Roberto Martinez, throughout the entire period of working with the team, faces the same question from specialists: why is such an age-old footballer based on his position, if players who are at the peak of physical condition and motivation are ready to go out? Criticism of Martinez sounded at the last world championship and sounds now, on the eve of the League of Nations. The argument is simple and undeniable: international football at the highest level requires speed, pressure, explosive acceleration – everything that objectively fades in forty-one years, no matter how unique the organism may be.

Both the coach and teammates always stand up for the captain. Words about authority, about skill, about inspiring psychological influence on the team are used. Ronaldo, for his part, says he is ready to leave the very day the coach or president of the federation decides he is no longer doing any good, which creates a bad atmosphere. He emphasizes that he will collect things without problems and will support the team in a new way. Nice formula. But it is pronounced from the position of a person who knows that neither the coach nor the president will make this decision. Because accepting it means taking responsibility. Until the captain says enough, no one will say it for him.

Question unanswered

Ronaldo says he is motivated by people who want to keep watching him. This is an honest and at the same time exhaustive confession. Not titles. Not the tactical tasks of the team. There is no need to pass on the experience to the younger generation on the field. Spectacle. Surveillance. The feeling that he's still here, still in the center, is still irreplaceable.

In recent years, Portuguese football has produced a generation of talents that can define the game for a decade to come. But while CR7 is on the field with a mission to finish twenty-one balls, this generation is forced to watch from the bench. Or to replace when the result is already predetermined. Or wait for his turn, which will come when Ronaldo decides it's finally time to pack.

The 2026/27 Nations League for Portugal kicks off on 24 September against Wales. For the rest of Europe, this is a tournament in which schemes are tested, compositions are tested, and the foundation for future qualifying campaigns is laid. For Portugal, this is apparently four matches in which the country will count the goals of its captain. Twenty-one. Or less. Or more. But it must be his.

And the shotgun, from which, according to Ronaldo himself, critics shoot at him, actually shoots blanks. Because in this story you can criticize as much as you want, but nothing will change. Captain's on the field. The captain will hit the gate. The captain will score or not score. And the young will wait. And wait. And wait. Until a thousand happens.

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To avoid accusations of bias that exists.

Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest footballers of all time. Perfect professionalism. A benchmark of skill. A hero with an open heart and a vulnerable soul.

At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, he became the first player in history to score at five consecutive World Cups. In 2023, 38-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo scored 10 goals in 9 matches of the qualifying tournament of Euro-2024. The Portuguese won 10 of their 10 qualifying matches.

Cristiano Ronaldo is the first player in history to play 200 matches for the national team.

He is the first footballer in history to play in six consecutive world championships. This is just a tiny fraction of his record.

So maybe a thousand. Or two. He has the right.