November 2, 2023
Portugal's chances of winning the 2026 World Cup largely depend on the form and fitness of their star player, Cristiano Ronaldo. If he remains a key contributor, Portugal could be a strong contender for the tournament...
Cristiano Ronaldo is now 38 years old. In the end of 2022, he signed a deal with Saudi Arabian-based club Al Nassr. He left Manchester United and signed with them until 2025. He signed for a reported $75 million per year that can go up to over $200 million after commercial agreements with the team. This came after he was believed to want to rack up more UEFA Champions League wins. From a sports betting angle, the only market we can dissect when it comes to betting odds is looking ahead to the 2026 World Cup and the odds for his home country of Portugal. After their shocking 1-0 loss to Morocco in World Cup 2022 in Qatar, Portugal will look to come back with a vengeance in 2026 throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. Below, we'll list the odds for the World Cup in 2026 and provide our insight into Portugal's chances. Of course, this event is years away, so we highly recommend that you research before betting as time goes on.
Cristiano Ronaldo - Showcasing talent in 2023:
Odds courtesy of bet365:
• FRANCE: +550
• BRAZIL: +550
• ENGLAND: +650
• ARGENTINA: +800
• SPAIN: +900
• GERMANY: +1000
• PORTUGAL: +1300
• NETHERLANDS: +1600
• ITALY: +2000
First, we need to discuss the real possibility that Ronaldo doesn't even play here. Come the 2026 World Cup, Ronaldo, the greatest player from Portugal ever, might retire from international play, especially after his massive contract with Saudi Arabia.
So, here, we’ll look at some of the other young talent, including Diogo Costa, João Cancelo, António Silva, Gonçalo Inácio, Nuno Mendes, Rúben Neves, Diogo Jota, and perhaps most importantly, Gonçalo Ramos.
• Diogo Costa: The goalkeeper who is just 23 years old. He boasts one of the better penalty-saving records, and you can expect him to come up in a big way for Portugal in 2026.
• Ramos: Will look to, one day, replace Ronaldo if he sits out after putting up a hat-trick against Switzerland.
• Cancelo: Struggled in the 2022 World Cup and will be 32 in 2026.
• Silva: Made his debut for Benfica at the end of August of 2022. Right now, he's just 19 years old.
• Gonçalo Inácio: At 21, Inacio has gotten interest from Man. United and Barcelona recently.
• Nuno Mendes: Suffered an injury early in World Cup 2022 and it caught up to him against Uruguay.
• Rúben Neves: An experienced midfielder now also playing in Saudi Arabia
• Jota: Missed the 2022 World Cup due to injury but will still be under 30 when 2026 comes.
We're also hoping for a better performance this time around from João Cancelo. He was almost benched in 2022 and used to play for Ronaldo's United rivals at Manchester City.
There's still a breadth of talent from this Portugal squad, so at +1300, that's some excellent value. Costa and Ramos are players we believe can be a major factor come 2026.
If Ronaldo plays and can get a World Cup win over 40 years old, that would be a phenomenal end to a legendary career.
The World Cup occurs every four years and has done so since 1950 after World War II. Below are the last 10 World Cup Winners.
• ARGENTINA: 2022
• FRANCE: 2018
• GERMANY: 2014
• SPAIN: 2010
• ITALY: 2006
• BRAZIL: 2002
• FRANCE: 1998
• BRAZIL: 1994
• WEST GERMANY: 1990
Who Is the Favorite to Win the 2026 World Cup?
At bet365, France is the projected winner of the 2026 World Cup at +550.
Which Country Has the Most World Cups?
The country with the most World Cup victories is Brazil, with five.
Has Ronaldo Ever Won A World Cup?
No. In 2022, many speculated that would be his final chance to win one before he retired. Now, we look to 2026 to see if he'll make a return at 41 to give it one last go.
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Al Nassr is on November 4 for the Saudi Pro League, against Al Khaleej. You can watch Al Nassr vs Al Khaleej, Manchester City vs AFC Bournemouth, Real Sociedad vs Barcelona, Fulham vs Manchester United, Newcastle United vs Arsenal and PSG vs Montpellier, all matches provided from our streaming live game pages.
Al Nassr next game:
Al Nassr vs Al Khaleej kick-off time (04-11-2023):
Beijing (China) | UTC/GMT+7: 01:00
India (New Delhi) | UTC/GMT+4.30: 22:30
Saudi Arabia (Riyadh) | UTC/GMT+2: 20:00
Spain (Madrid) | UTC/GMT+1: 19:00
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | UTC/GMT+0: 18:00
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | UTC/GMT-3: 15:00
New York (United States) | UTC/GMT-4: 14:00
Los Angeles (United States) | UTC/GMT-7: 11:00
Sources: ronaldo7.net / espn.com / marca.com
