With less than 80 days to go before the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, national teams will play a few friendlies before competing in the prestigious tournament. Portugal is one of them, and although the matches against Mexico and the USMNT will be marked by Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence, they promise to be historic.
One of his teammates on the national team and current Real Sociedad player, Gonçalo Guedes, spoke with the press before facing El Tri in what will be the reopening of Azteca Stadium (Banorte), but his words about the World Cup took center stage.
Portugal, a World Cup contender?
Ahead of the match on Saturday, March 28, at 9 p.m. ET at the legendary Mexican stadium, the Portuguese forward shared his thoughts on various topics and, of course, his stance on soccer’s biggest tournament came up.
Completely candid, Guedes stated that, although some do not consider the team led by Roberto Martínez a top contender for the title, he has full confidence in their potential:
“We’re not the heavy favorites,” he began by admitting, “but we can win because of the quality of players we have; we have to approach the World Cup knowing that we’re very good, but the World Cup isn’t going to be easy at all,” warned the 29-year-old star (via Olé).
Gonçalo, who returned to the national team after four years, didn’t sugarcoat the difficulty of the tournament and the fierce competition, but he also acknowledged that his team boasts great talent: “Everyone participating wants to win; there are great teams in good form, but we have big names.”
In addition, Guedes shared his thoughts on their opponent and said he sees El Tri as a “very compact” team with “very tough players,” but one that is focused on its work and trying to achieve “the best possible result.”
Meanwhile, after facing Mexico, Portugal (ranked sixth in the FIFA rankings) will play against the USMNT on the 31st at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, as a warm-up for the World Cup to be held in Mexico, the U.S., and Canada from June 11 to July 19.
There, Portugal will be in Group K and will face Colombia, Uzbekistan, and the winner of the intercontinental playoff to be decided next Tuesday between Jamaica, Congo, and New Caledonia. On Wednesday, June 17, they will play their first match against the winner of the intercontinental playoff. On Tuesday the 23rd, they will face Uzbekistan, and on Saturday the 27th, Colombia.
With Guedes, João Félix, Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha, and the rest of the squad, the Portuguese hope to count on their star and team captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, to take on a new edition of the World Cup-which will be CR7’s sixth and final one. Far from labeling themselves as favorites, Portugal prefers to move forward with a low profile, though with a clear warning: they will fight, and they have what it takes.
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