Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo will be able to play his side's opening matches at next year's World Cup after FIFA suspended the final two matches of a three-match ban on Tuesday.

"Best caption wins!" the 40-year-old Portuguese international wrote on X after his 96th-minute wonder strike on Sunday home to Al Khaleej.

Ronaldo will miss Sunday’s match against Armenia, where Portugal aim to seal qualification for next summer’s tournament.

Portugal fell behind on 17 minutes after Liam Scales headed a fizzed-in corner back across goal and Parrott could not miss.

Portugal will reach the 2026 World Cup finals with a victory and Ronaldo said if the crowd focused on him it could take pressure off his team-mates.

Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo on Tuesday said next year's World Cup would be his last as he winds down one of the all-time great careers.

Ruben Amorim has told Manchester United to "focus on the future" following former Old Trafford star Cristiano Ronaldo's withering assessment of his old club.

Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed he plans to retire "soon" as the Portugal and Al Nassr star prepares for a tearful end to his glittering career.

The upcoming interview adds a fresh spark to a rivalry that has defined modern football, dividing fans and pundits alike for nearly two decades.

Lionel Messi conjured another moment of brilliance in the 90th minute when his sumptuous left-footed curler found the corner in Inter Miami’s 2-1 loss to Nashville SC on Saturday, levelling their first-round MLS Cup playoff series at 1-1 after Miami’s 3-1 win in the first leg on October 25. The strike was Messi’s 749th with his famed left foot -- nearly 84 percent of his career total -- taking his overall tally to 892 as he closes in on the 900-goal mark. In contrast, his long-time rival, Cristiano Ronaldo, now on 952 goals, has scored 182 goals (19.1 percent of his career total) with his weaker left foot. With 892 goals in 1,132 appearances, Messi looks set to reach the 900-mark faster than Ronaldo, who took 1236 games. Photo: Reuters

Ronaldo, who is still searching for his first domestic trophy with Al-Nassr, has scored eight goals in seven matches this season.

Since joining Al Nassr after leaving Manchester United in December 2022, Ronaldo has been on a record-breaking spree, netting over 100 goals for the Saudi side.

Lionel Messi’s latest brace carried the usual brilliance but it was the unusual part of it -- a rare header -- that drew the biggest reaction as Inter Miami beat Nashville SC 3-1 in the opening game of their MLS playoff series in Fort Lauderdale on Friday.

Portugal great Cristiano Ronaldo once again topped the Forbes highest-paid footballers list for the 2025-26 season, as one of three members of the top 10 plying their trade in Saudi Arabia.

Ronaldo netted his 40th and 41st qualifying goals, overtaking retired Guatemala international Carlos Ruiz, who scored 39 between 1998 and 2016.

Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first footballer to reach billionaire status, according to the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which has valued the Portugal great's net worth at an estimated $1.4 billion.

Goals from Sadio Mane and Cristiano Ronaldo spurred Al-Nassr to a 2-0 victory over Al-Ittihad in the Saudi Pro League on Friday, lifting the Riyadh club three points clear of the champions on top of the standings.

Ousmane Dembele has been crowned the winner of the 2025 Ballon d’Or after an outstanding 2024-25 season with Paris Saint-Germain, a campaign highlighted by lifting the UEFA Champions League trophy.

Harry Kane has made a habit of rewriting record books since joining Bayern Munich, and the English striker now stands on the brink of eclipsing one set by Cristiano Ronaldo over a decade ago.

Lionel Messi's Panenka penalty miss in Inter Miami's 3-0 defeat against Charlotte FC in an MLS encounter on Saturday reignited comparisons with Cristiano Ronaldo.