Ronaldo begins record sixth World Cup as Portugal opens against Congo DR

Cristiano Ronaldo stepped into a sixth men’s World Cup with the same weight that has followed him for nearly two decades, and Portugal’s opener against Congo DR quickly became more than a group-stage fixture. In Houston, the match connected a record-setting star, a team chasing its first title, and an opponent returning to the tournament under a new name after half a century away.

The 2026 World Cup is the largest in the event’s history, spread across the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, with 48 teams and 104 matches. FIFA confirmed 1,248 players from 48 nations on June 2, a snapshot of how much the tournament has widened even as Ronaldo, now 41, remained one of its defining figures. FIFA lists him with 226 caps and 143 goals for Portugal, and eight World Cup goals, while also placing him alongside Lionel Messi in the bid to become the first player to appear at six World Cups.

Group K has been marked as one of the tournament’s most watchable sections, with Portugal and Colombia viewed as leading contenders. Portugal opened against Congo DR in Houston on June 17, then was set to face Uzbekistan in Miami on June 23 and Colombia in Miami on June 27. Portugal’s squad, named on May 19, included Ronaldo, Joao Felix, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva, Diogo Costa, Bruno Fernandes, Joao Neves, Vitinha, Rafael Leao, Goncalo Ramos and coach Roberto Martinez.

Congo DR brought its own historical charge to the opening match. The team was competing at the World Cup under the name Congo DR for the first time, although the country previously appeared once in 1974 as Zaire, the first Sub-Saharan African team to reach the finals. FIFA’s squad announcement on May 18 named a 26-man roster selected by Sebastien Desabre, including Bakambu, Mbemba and Mayele. That gave the opener a rare symmetry: a global superstar seeking one last elusive trophy against a side trying to restore itself to the tournament after 52 years.

Portugal’s early edge through Joao Neves underlined how quickly the group could tilt toward the favorites, but the larger story remained Ronaldo’s place in the sport’s lineage. His 2018 tournament, with a hat trick against Spain and a header against Morocco, already sits among the most memorable World Cup runs of the modern era. In 2026, his opening match became a marker of the tournament’s handoff, where legacy still draws the gaze and new contenders are pushing to claim the stage.