– Again Cristiano Ronaldo makes the jump to the World Cup. Portugal superstar is now facing his fifth participation. His permanent rival Messi is also coming to Qatar. Other stars, on the other hand, are missing.
In the end, Cristiano Ronaldo smiled. The Portugal superstar kicked a few balls into the Estádio do Dragão stands as fans in Porto cheered him on.
“We are where we belong!” Wrote the 37-year-old a little later on Instagram. A sober 2-0 win over North Macedonia in the play-off final gave Ronaldo his fifth World Cup with Portugal. He can now chase the last major title of his career.
When the final of the winter tournament in Qatar is scheduled for December 18, it could even come to the last duel with his long-term rival from South America: Portugal against Argentina, Ronaldo against Lionel Messi – it would be a top-class final shortly before the probable conclusion two extraordinary careers. But there are also big names that both have to watch when they play their fifth World Cup: Zlatan Ibrahimovic will probably never be seen on the World Cup stage again after the playoff with Sweden, and BVB striker Erling Haaland is also missing in Qatar. An overview:
Who’s in:
Cristiano Ronaldo: Shortly after the final whistle he looked a little contrite because he hadn’t scored a goal. But then Ronaldo also posed proudly in Portugal’s team photo. “We have a dream and we will chase it,” said national coach Fernando Santos after the win against North Macedonia. The fact that Ronaldo will invest everything again for this dream should not surprise anyone. “The years go by, but the goals always remain the same,” he wrote on Instagram on Wednesday with a photo of himself and his 39-year-old teammate Pepe. There is no question that if Ronaldo and Pepe are fit, they will be there in Qatar – and chasing the dream.
Lionel Messi: The Argentinian has had the tournament ticket for a long time. Like Ronaldo, Messi would enter illustrious circles just by taking part in the World Cup. Only record internationals Lothar Matthäus and the Mexicans Rafael Márquez and Antonio Carbajal have played at five World Cups so far. In theory, the 34-year-old could even replace Matthäus as the World Cup record player. The German currently tops the list with 25 World Cup appearances, Messi has 19 games.
Neymar: Brazil’s Neymar is far from such numbers. And he will probably not advance into these spheres again. The 30-year-old has already announced that the tournament in Qatar will most likely be his last World Cup. After the 7-1 debacle against Germany at the home event in 2014 and the quarter-finals in Russia in 2018, he too wants to fulfill his big dream.
Kylian Mbappé: Kylian Mbappé has already done that. The 23-year-old had already shown some outstanding performances at the tournament four years ago. That’s one of the reasons why France ultimately won the title, Mbappé was named the best young player of the tournament. In Qatar he will be one of the biggest stars alongside Ronaldo, Messi and Co.
Robert Lewandowski: Even the FC Bayern attacker got nervous. “It was one of the most difficult penalties of my life,” said the 33-year-old after Poland’s 2-0 win over Sweden in the play-off final. Nevertheless, Lewandowski converted (50th minute) and paved the way for the Poles to Qatar. Then he and his teammates danced with joy in the dressing room. “Now we can celebrate. I’m happy and proud!”
Who is missing:
Zlatan Ibrahimovic: He would have liked this degree. The Swede would have been 41 years old at the tournament in Qatar. After the defeat against Poland, the AC Milan attacker will probably never be seen on the World Cup stage again. He initially left his sporting future in the national team open. “The most important thing is what happens to Sweden, not what happens to me personally,” he said.
Erling Haaland: The Norwegian has known for a long time that he will miss the World Cup after failing to qualify. Unlike Ibrahimovic, Ronaldo and Co., the exceptional striker from Borussia Dortmund is only at the beginning of his career. Haaland will be 22 in the summer. If he scores as reliably for the Scandinavians as Ibrahimovic did in his heyday, they should be at the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico.
Mohamed Salah: It doesn’t get much more bitter than that. Only in the penalty shoot-out against Senegal does Egypt’s star striker miss the World Cup ticket. During his penalty kick, he was so massively blinded by laser pointers from the audience that he missed the shot. His Liverpool teammate Sadio Mané does it better shortly afterwards and shoots Senegal to the World Cup.
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