(REUTERS)
Cristiano Ronaldo has bent football's record books into so many shapes that another landmark can almost feel routine but a sixth World Cup at 41 would be extraordinary even by his standards.
The 2026 tournament is set to add another stop to Ronaldo's long and often bruising World Cup journey, one that began in Germany in 2006 and has wound through South Africa, Brazil, Russia, and Qatar without delivering the prize he has chased.
Only Lionel Messi is poised to match him for appearances at six World Cups, another twist in a rivalry that has stretched from Real Madrid v Barcelona to Ballon d'Or ceremonies and now into football's deepest archive.
Messi has eight Ballon d'Or awards, Ronaldo five. Both are still making room for new chapters in their amazing stories.
For Ronaldo, the World Cup has been the one stage that has never fully bent to his will.
His best run came in 2006, when Portugal reached the semi-finals before losing to France. Since then there have been two round-of-16 exits, a quarter-final defeat, and a grim group-stage departure in Brazil in 2014.
This time they face Democratic Republic of Congo, debutants Uzbekistan, plus Colombia in Group K.
Across five tournaments, Ronaldo has played 22 matches and scored eight goals - fine numbers for most mortals but modest for the standards set by a forward who made remarkable achievements look normal at club level.
Qatar 2022 looked like the end of his World Cup journey. Ronaldo arrived amid the noise of his Manchester United exit, scored and was dropped by then-coach Fernando Santos for the knockout win over Switzerland after a 2-1 loss to South Korea.
Instead, he has returned under former Belgium manager Roberto Martinez with the persistence of a man who treats Father Time as just another marker to shrug off.
Portugal now have a glittering supporting cast, including Vitinha, Joao Neves, Bruno Fernandes and Nuno Mendes, but Ronaldo remains the headline act.
After their disappointing quarter-final exit at Euro 2024, Portugal roared back to beat European champions Spain in the Nations League final last year and arrive in excellent form in North America with Ronaldo as their leader.
Martinez says the evidence still shows Ronaldo's importance: 25 goals in 30 games under his management -- more goals per game than under any of his previous national managers -- and plenty of work that does not fit neatly into a scoring column.
"He is fantastic at those movements, those runs, opening spaces, splitting centre halves," Martinez told Reuters in May.
"Somebody that has won everything has the hunger of somebody that hasn't won a trophy yet," he added.
For Ronaldo, 2026 may be his last dance on the world stage. Then again, that has been said before.