Ronaldo's Sixth World Cup · 27+1 · CR7 Chasing History in Houston
Roberto Martínez named the squad as "27+1" — 27 players plus Diogo Jota, who died in a car crash in Spain last July alongside his brother. Portugal carry Jota's memory into every match. It's simultaneously heartbreaking and galvanising. They are playing for someone they lost.
The squad is extraordinary. Nuno Mendes, João Neves, Vitinha, and Gonçalo Ramos all arrive as Champions League winners with PSG. Rafael Leão and Bernardo Silva provide the creativity. Bruno Fernandes drives the tempo. And then there's Ronaldo — 41 years old, at a record sixth World Cup, captaining the side from Al-Nassr. Does he start? That's the press conference question Martínez gets every day.
The Leopards are Africa's most populous football nation — 100 million people — and they've always punched below their weight at the global level. They qualified through a tough CAF process and arrive with a mixture of domestic league players and European-based professionals. They won't be passive; DR Congo sides are typically direct, athletic, and dangerous on the counter-attack.
Portugal's UCL-winning core should have too much quality over 90 minutes, but DR Congo will make it uncomfortable in the first half and might steal something from a set piece. This is not a walkover.