Cristiano Ronaldo will be playing his last World Cup for Portugal, and the talisman will hope to finally lift the trophy that had eluded him the last time as they begin their campaign against African side DR Congo on Wednesday.
Having won the Euros and the Nations League, their search for glory on the world stage continues as Selecao das Quinas have never won the World Cup in their history, but they are being tipped as potential challengers for the trophy this summer, considering the quality in their squad.
The closest they have come to winning the trophy was in 1966, when they finished third. They have been struggling since then at the World Cup.
They also came a bit closer in the last edition as they lost in the quarter-finals in Qatar.
Selecao das Quinas still have the underachiever tag in this competition given the quality of their squads in recent history.
The recent major international title to their name was the Euro 2016, but this is the trophy that a certain Ronaldo really wants, having been the only one missing in his cabinet.
On paper, Roberto Martinez’s favourites to top Group K, which also includes Colombia and Uzbekistan.
They have also had a good preparation for the 2026 World Cup as they are coming off the back of three straight friendly wins over USA, Chile, and Nigeria.
Portugal completed their qualification campaign in style with a 9-1 demolition of Armenia, but later suffered a defeat at the hands of the Republic of Ireland late last year.
As they prepare for the opener today, there remain question marks over their ability to seriously challenge for the trophy this summer.
Meanwhile, the African side is not what any team will shove aside, having proved their mettle to get here through a rigorous qualification process.
They could make history today when they lock horns with Portugal for the first time, and it would go down as one of the biggest shocks in the competition if they were unable to overcome the Leopards in Houston.
Congo DR also had a good preparation as they held Denmark to a goalless draw in one of two pre-World Cup friendlies at the start of June, but they were beaten 2-1 by Chile last time out.
Coming back to the tournament after 52 years of absence is expected to help them towards making a mark.
The Leopards qualified through Axel Tuanzebe’s extra-time goal against Jamaica in their intercontinental play-off final in Mexico back in March.
Congo DR got to the last-16 of the recent Africa Cup of Nations and won two of their last four matches, only suffering one defeat in the process.
With the expanded World Cup, Sebastien Desabre’s team have a better chance of reaching the knockout round of the competition, with one victory in the section potentially being enough to qualify in third spot.
