Notoriously unassuming, Cristiano Ronaldo once said: “I don’t follow records, records follow me.”And of course he has a point. Ronaldo has scored the most goals in Champions League history, 140, and the most international goals, 143. He has won five Ballon d’Or trophies, more than any other European, and been runner-up six times. He has accumulated 35 major trophies in over 1,300 senior appearances across 24 years. To say he is one of modern football’s superstars can sound like understatement.But Cristiano Ronaldo has not won the World Cup.Given he turned 41 in February, this, his sixth World Cup finals with Portugal, will be the last opportunity. Portugal are ranked fifth by FIFA at the time of writing, and have an experienced, talented squad that should in theory ease its way through their initial group of DR Congo, Uzbekistan and Colombia.But can Portugal win it? They reached the quarter-finals in their last two major competitions — the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, when Morocco won 1-0 and Ronaldo was a second-half substitute; and they were beaten in the last eight on penalties at Euro 2024 in Germany by France — Ronaldo scored his in the shootout.In qualifying for these finals, Portugal won their UEFA group. It included the Republic of Ireland, Hungary and Armenia, whom Portugal hammered 9-1 in the last qualifier. Ronaldo was absent, but Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Joao Neves and Vitinha were present. Portugal have arguably the best midfield on the globe and know how to retain possession in hot circumstances.This gives Ronaldo hope. He will be fully aware the closest he and his countrymen came to reaching the World Cup final in his era was at his first tournament in Germany in 2006 when he was 21, not 41. Then Portugal lost their semi-final to a Zinedine Zidane penalty for France. There have been no real Portuguese near misses since.A crestfallen Cristiano Ronaldo digests Portugal’s elimination to Thierry Henry’s France in 2006 (Michael Steele/Getty Images)It has been different in Europe. Portugal, with Ronaldo in peak Real Madrid ‘CR7’ form, did win the 2016 European Championship in France. It is Portugal’s one and only major tournament trophy and was a huge achievement.In the four World Cup attempts since Germany 2006, however, Ronaldo has experienced individual and collective disappointment. In 2010, in South Africa, the squad managed by Carlos Queiroz played four games — three in their group and one knock-out — and scored in only one of them. There was a 0-0 draw against Ivory Coast, 0-0 v Brazil and a 7-0 victory over North Korea. Ronaldo was named man of the match in all of them, so at least the sponsors were happy.In the last 16, there was a 1-0 loss to Iberian neighbours Spain in Cape Town. If Ronaldo was seeking consolation, it came in the fact he scored the seventh in the 7-0 win over North Korea.Spain were the eventual winners, of course, and four years later in Brazil, Portugal’s first opponents in their group, Germany, would also turn out to be overall winners. Germany won 4-0. Portugal then drew 2-2 with the United States but despite winning their last match 2-1 against Ghana with a late Ronaldo winner, they finished third on goal difference and were eliminated before the knock-out phase.Russia 2018 brought Spain again in Portugal’s group and in the first match: it was one of Ronaldo’s greatest performances. He scored a hat-trick in an enthralling 3-3 draw in Sochi. For good measure he scored the only goal in the next game, against Morocco. A 1-1 draw with Iran completed the group, but Portugal faced Uruguay in the last 16 and lost 2-1.In Qatar, by now 37, back at Manchester United but having just fallen out with manager Erik ten Hag, Ronaldo started his fifth World Cup finals with a goal against Ghana from the penalty spot. The goal meant he became the first player to score in five World Cups. He also became the second-oldest after Roger Milla, who was 42 when he scored for Cameroon in 1994.Portugal then thumped Switzerland 6-1 in the last 16, with Ronaldo on the bench until the second half. There was belief in Portugal after that result, but against Morocco, they fell behind late in the first half and, while Ronaldo appeared from the bench in the 51st minute, Morocco held out.Cristiano Ronaldo departs the pitch at Al Thumama Stadium after elimination to Morocco in 2022 (Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images)A day later, Ronaldo wrote to his 600 million followers on Instagram: “To win a World Cup for Portugal was the biggest and most ambitious dream of my career… I fought for it. I fought a lot for that dream. In the five times I was present in World Cups throughout 16 years, always next to great players and supported by millions of Portuguese, I gave it my all. I left everything on the field. I never faced away from the fight and I never gave up on that dream.“Unfortunately, yesterday that dream ended. There’s no point in reacting hot-headed. I just want everyone to know that a lot has been said, a lot was written, a lot was speculated, but my dedication to Portugal didn’t change even for a second. I was always just one fighting for everyone’s goal and I would never turn my back against my mates and my country.”