"I will guarantee you that" - Pundit insists Portugal will not win 2026 FIFA World Cup if Cristiano Ronaldo is their starting center-forward

ESPN pundit Steve Nicol believes Portugal have no chance of winning the 2026 FIFA World Cup if Cristiano Ronaldo remains in the starting XI as their striker. The Liverpool icon's comments arrive after A Selecao's 3-1 win against Poland in the UEFA Nations League on Saturday, October 12.

Cristiano Ronaldo found the back of the net against Poland, scoring his 906th career goal. Despite this, Nicol wasn't impressed by the 39-year-old's performance, instead choosing to credit Rafael Leao, Pedro Neto, and Bruno Fernandes.

Nicol said (via ESPN FC):

"If Cristiano Ronaldo is your starting centre-forward in the World Cup, Portugal will not win it. I will guarantee you that. Leao had 2-3 runs today that were sensational.

"If between now and the World Cup, Leao can get a consistency at a certain level, along with Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes looked like a dfferent player here for Portugal, Neto was running at the Polish defence for fun, that's why the first half was so good, all of those players were at it."

He added:

"So yes, they can win the World Cup but they can't win it with Ronaldo at centre-forward."

Cristiano Ronaldo is arguably the greatest international goalscorer of all time, having scored 133 goals and provided 45 assists in 215 appearances across all competitions. His feats were pivotal in Portugal winning Euro 2016 and the 2019 Nations League.

Even though Ronaldo is still lethal in front of goal, his overall game has taken a step back due to his reduced mobility. This was evident when A Selecao crashed out of the 2022 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2024 in the quarter-finals, where Ronaldo only registered a total of one goal and one assist in 10 appearances.

Despite this, the Al-Nassr ace appears to have retained the backing of Roberto Martinez and is still Portugal's No. 1 choice striker ahead of Diogo Jota. They next face Scotland on Tuesday, October 15.

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How did Cristiano Ronaldo fare for Portugal in their 3-1 win against Poland?

Cristiano Ronaldo continued his exceptional run of form as he guided Portugal to an impressive 3-1 win against Poland in the Nations League. They remain at the top of Group A with nine points from three games.

Ronaldo struck the crossbar early in the contest before Bernardo Silva gave the visitors the lead with a good finish in the 26th minute. The former then doubled their lead after tapping home from a rebound after Rafael Leao's effort struck the post. Piotr Zielinski (78') scored to give Poland hope, however, Jan Bednarek's 88th-minute own-goal sealed a 3-1 win for A Selecao.

Cristiano Ronaldo was given a rating of 8.4 by FotMob. During his 63 minutes on the pitch, he created one chance, completed 21 out of his 24 passes with an accuracy of 88 percent, and won five duels. However, while he found the back of the net from one shot on target, he was guilty of missing one big chance with his other.