Cristiano Ronaldo has said he does not plan to play at the Club World Cup in the United States, despite being courted by clubs participating in the 32-team tournament.
Speculation over the Portugal forward’s future intensified last month when the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, said discussions were under way about Ronaldo playing despite his club side, Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr, failing to qualify.
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He’ll just have to try and win the Nations League instead, eh?
Those two squads are absolutely stacked. The talent that managers Roberto Martínez and Luis de la Fuente have on the bench to call upon is frankly ridiculous. Rafael Leão, Joao Palhinha, Gavi, Dani Olmo … they’re walking into almost every other international team.
The battle between the two starting midfields should be fascinating in itself. Pedri and Fabián Ruiz together is a tantalising prospect for Spain, but if anyone can shackle them it’ll be Ruiz’s PSG partner-in-crime Vitinha, who anchors between the Premier League sparkle of Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva.
Consider our appetites well and truly whetted.
Portugal: Costa; J.Neves, Dias, Inácio, Mendes; B.Silva, Vitinha, Fernandes; Neto, Conceição, Ronaldo.
Subs: Sá, R.Silva, Semedo, A.Silva, Dalot, Palhinha, Ramos, Félix, Veiga, Trincao, Leão, R.Neves. Gonçalves, Jota, Mora.
Spain: Simón; Mingueza, Le Normand, Huijsen, Cucurella; Pedri, Ruiz, Zubimendi; Yamal, Williams, Oyarzabal.
Subs: Raya, Remiro, Porro, Cubarsí, Vivian, Merino, Morata, Gavi, Olmo, Pino, Baena, Grimaldo, Isco, López, Aghehowa.
Elsewhere in the world of international football … (some light reading for you):
Kylian Mbappé scored his 50th international goal as France swept aside Germany 2-0 and claimed third place in the Nations League earlier today. Mbappé then set up Michael Olise for the second in Stuttgart, reminding us all that he’s still very much in the company of Lamine Yamal, Ousmane Dembele, Mo Salah and the other 2025 Ballon D’Or Contenders.
The buildup to this game has concentrated less on the actual trophy at stake, and more on the clash between the GOATs of the past and (likely) future. It’s Cristiano Ronaldo versus Lamine Yamal! CR7 v Lamine The Dream! Oh, is that a piece of international silverware I see in the corner of my eye as well? I guess that’d be nice to win.
“I would like to take pressure off him and leave him alone,” said Ronaldo of Spain’s teenage sensation this week. Yamal, who somehow is still only 17, dubbed his opponent “a football legend”. It’s been an understandable love-in, fuelled by the fact there is so little else to talk about in the world of football right now. A rare lull such as this was always going to be filled with predictable GOAT chat.
Anyway, the action gets under way at 8pm (BST) in Munich this evening, with Spain looking to claim Nations League glory for a second successive time after their 2023 win. In fact, there’s never been a Nations League final in which one of Spain or Portugal haven’t competed. Portugal beat the Netherlands in the inaugural 2019 competition, while France edged past Spain in 2021. Let’s see who can become the tournament’s first two-time winners tonight.