Is Cristiano Ronaldo still one of the game's best?

Portugal and Croatia will face off in Toronto in the FIFA World Cup Round of 32, a match that will pit five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo against fellow Ballon d’Or winner Luka Modrić. It will, in all likelihood, be the final match at a major international tournament for either Modrić (40) or Ronaldo (41), with the winner heading to Dallas to take on either Spain or Austria.

And whilst Modrić is looking to build on his international legacy after winning the silver medal in 2018 and the bronze in 2022, Ronaldo is looking to finally make his mark in the one competition that he has never quite been able to master.

Ronaldo has achieved just about everything in football, from winning a record three UEFA Men's Player of the Year Awards and four European Golden Shoes, to claiming 35 trophies (including five UEFA Champions League titles), to becoming the only player to finish as top scorer in four different domestic leagues, to registering 1,328 professional career appearances, a record for an outfield player.

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No player has scored more goals than him in the history of football (975), with Ronaldo also leading all players for goals (140) and assists (42) in the Champions League, as well as goals (14) and assists (8) in the European Championship. However, on Thursday, he’ll be looking to do something that he has never done: score a World Cup knockout goal.

A history of World Cup heartbreak

After breaking onto the scene with Sporting CP, Ronaldo emerged as one of the best players in world football during his time at Manchester United, winning the biggest prize in England and Europe. However, silverware continued to elude him with the Portuguese national team, losing to Greece on home soil in the 2004 European Championship Final before delivering a rather uninspiring performance in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, scoring just one penalty vs. Iran as Portugal went out in the semifinals.

He took things up a notch at Real Madrid and established himself as one of the all-time greats, but he once again found himself subdued on the world’s biggest stage, only scoring against North Korea before losing to eventual champions Spain in the Round of 16.

After a humiliating group stage exit in the 2014 World Cup, Ronaldo would lead Portugal all the way to the 2016 Euros Final, only to be hauled off with an injury early on: the Seleção would nevertheless beat France on home soil to secure their first-ever trophy. He kicked things off in style in 2018, scoring a hat-trick vs. Spain and a goal vs. Morocco, only to be kept under wraps in the following two matches.

And in 2022, he scored a penalty vs. Ghana before being held scoreless in his next four matches, during which time he was benched by Gonçalo Ramos. To add insult to injury, his archrival Lionel Messi achieved the ultimate prize by winning the FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

The polarising icon

In theory, football fans should be unified in wanting Ronaldo to ride off into the sunset and consolidate his legacy by leading Portugal to their maiden World Cup Final. Instead, for every person who’s rooting for Ronaldo to go the distance, there’s at least one person who’s rooting for him to fail. This is in stark contrast to Messi, who is receiving nearly unanimous support from the billions of football fans all across the globe.

“I think Ronaldo has a bit more of an ego than Messi…there’s a bit of unity in the Argentina team, people play for Messi, he’s a deity,” stated Colombia supporter Juan. “It’s not that Ronaldo doesn’t have it, because clearly he’s incredibly talented and renowned in the soccer world, but I think he’s missing that je ne sais quoi about the team playing for him, and I think that matters when you’re playing a team sport. He’s still a superstar; he’s killing it in Saudi Arabia, but he’s getting older, and there’s something about these players playing at this age where maybe they don’t have the same pizzazz that they had when they were younger.”

In contrast to his previous spells at the Santiago Bernabéu and Old Trafford, there’s a growing school of thought that believes that the current Ronaldo isn’t worth the hassle that he brings with his arrival. Juventus signed him for a club-record fee so that he could deliver them the Champions League; instead, they would drift further and further away from Europe’s elite prize, whilst also relinquishing their unprecedented domestic dynasty.

They dug themselves into a financial hole by paying his astronomical salary, one that they still haven’t recovered from; Manchester United, meanwhile, were more than happy to discard him after 1.5 seasons, with Ronaldo heading to Saudi club Al-Nassr after his cataclysmic display in Qatar.

A legend undone by the clock

Having failed to score a single goal in the 2024 Euros, Ronaldo was once again subdued in Portugal’s opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a 1-1 draw against the Democratic Republic of the Congo. But he bounced back in impressive fashion, recording an early brace vs. Uzbekistan and becoming the first player in history to score at six different World Cups. It’s precisely why, despite showing obvious signs of age, Colombia fans remained fearful of Ronaldo’s threat going into the final group stage match in Miami.

“Ronaldo is a historic player, and people will think what they want to think, but he’s a legend,” stated Colombia supporter Gustavo. “Just like Messi, he’s not in his prime anymore, but he still contributes more than he takes away.”

As it turned out, Ronaldo’s performance was far more similar to his opening match than his second match. As opposed to Messi, who was rested in the final group match, Ronaldo led the line as Portugal sought a victory to claim first place in the group. However, he struggled to make his presence felt, constantly mistiming his runs and getting caught offside with regularity, and he was unable to stretch the Colombia defence and provide a genuine outlet off the ball.

Whilst Los Cafeteros played with pace and personality, Portugal looked lethargic. Despite having arguably the best left back in the world in Nuno Mendes as well as three of the best midfielders in the world in Vitinha, Bruno Fernandes and João Neves, it was their goalkeeper Diogo Costa who was their best performer on the night. Had it not been for Costa’s shot-stopping heroics, or had Davinson Sánchez gotten a pedicure the night before, Colombia would have taken nine points from nine.

During his prime, it often felt as though Ronaldo was single-handedly dragging along a Portugal team of subpar players. Now, though, it seems to be the opposite. Whilst Ronaldo did score in the semifinal and final of last summer’s UEFA Nations League Final, he hasn’t managed to step up and deliver in major competitions for quite some time.

Portugal manager Roberto Martínez, in contrast to his predecessor Fernando Santos, hasn’t shown any willingness to sub him off, much less bench him. Instead, he’s hoping that Father Time gives Ronaldo one last reprieve, enabling him to find the supersonic levels that saw him terrorise world football over the past two decades.

“I think Ronaldo is a great idol, just like Messi, but due to his mentality of thinking that he’s the best, a part of the world thinks he’s arrogant,” stated Portugal fan Paulo. “That’s the main reason why people don’t like that winning mentality, but there are people who like me who like that. I think that we’re not going to find the Ronaldo of 2015, just like we won’t find the same Messi or Neymar of their prime. Father Time defeats everyone, and it’s normal that he’s had a decline for his age, but this decline won’t erase his legacy.”

This has been the World Cup of the stars, with Vinícius Júnior clicking on all cylinders for Brazil, Messi proving to be the ageless wonder for Argentina, Erling Haaland leading Norway to the knockout round in their first World Cup in 28 years, and Kylian Mbappé, Michael Olise and Ousmane Dembélé forming a devastating trio in France’s attack. But as for Ronaldo, it’s going to take a lot more than a brace vs. Uzbekistan to prove that he is, indeed, back.

The time is now: can he finally showcase his legendary goal-scoring prowess in a knockout match and lead Portugal into the Round of 16?