Schmeichel warns Ronaldo facing 'really difficult' reality after Portugal's World Cup exit

Cristiano Ronaldo’s sixth and likely final World Cup ended in a round-of-16 defeat to Spain on Monday, and former Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel believes the 41-year-old will find it deeply difficult to process the reality that his international career is drawing to a close.

“I know exactly what he’s feeling right now,” Schmeichel said. “It means everything to play for your country. Look at his body language. It hits you, and it hits you harder than you’re ever going to expect.”

Portugal progressed from Group K with a 1-2-0 record before beating Croatia in the round of 32, only to be eliminated by Lamine Yamal’s Spain. After the defeat, Ronaldo described the tournament as his “last” World Cup but stopped short of announcing his retirement from football altogether.

Schmeichel, who has spoken openly about his own struggles with stepping away from the international stage, drew a direct parallel with Ronaldo’s situation. “I think, at the moment, Cristiano is realizing that he’s not going to play in the World Cup again. Those stadiums, you’re not going to be able to play in them again. That’s a really, really tough thing, and that’s something I haven’t come to terms with yet,” he said.

“He’ll want to keep playing, and he doesn’t need to, but he does it because he loves it. He loves the game. He’s physically still able to play. Having it not taken away from you, but there are four years until another World Cup — the chances are he’s not going to be there, and that will be really, really difficult to take.”

Schmeichel also pointed to Ronaldo’s relentless competitive drive as a key factor. “Even at his age, I don’t care how many goals you scored or how many trophies you’ve got, that’s not his mentality. His mentality is the next one. Wants to win, wants to keep going, wants to prove that he still is the best.”

Ronaldo scored three goals across Portugal’s five matches at the 2026 World Cup, including a brace against Uzbekistan in the group stage, taking his career World Cup tally to 11 goals. He remains the all-time leading scorer in football history with 976 goals across 1,326 appearances.

Despite the international heartbreak, Ronaldo’s club form at Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League has remained formidable. He has averaged 29.3 goals per season over the past three years and helped the club win the league title in the 2025-26 season — suggesting his appetite for the game at club level shows no sign of fading.