Portugal are set to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will mark Cristiano Ronaldo’s sixth appearance at the tournament.
Cristiano Ronaldo confirmed the 2026 FIFA World Cup would be his final appearance at the tournament.
Speaking to CNN on Tuesday, the Al-Nassr forward was asked if the next World Cup would be his last and replied, “Definitely yes.”
“I will be 41 years old and I think will be the moment in the big competition,” said the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
“I’m enjoying the moment, but when I mean soon, it’s really soon because I gave everything for football.”
The decision means the Portuguese superstar, who represented his country at five previous World Cups, effectively ruled himself out of the 2030 edition, which Portugal would co-host with Morocco and Spain.
Portugal are on the verge of qualifying for the 2026 tournament, sitting top of Group F with 10 points, five clear of second-place Hungary with two matches remaining.
A victory over the Republic of Ireland on Thursday would secure their place at the top of the group.
Football superstar @Cristiano Ronaldo has told CNN that the 2026 FIFA World Cup will “definitely’ be his last.
“I will be 41 years old and I think will be the moment in the big competition,” Ronaldo told @BeckyCNN in a virtual interview today. pic.twitter.com/4LESJzMFH4
When Auckland FC defeated Sydney FC to win the 2026 A-League Grand Final, the New Zealand outfit joined one of football’s most unusual groups: clubs that have won the top-flight title of a league outside their own country.
Cross-border participation is uncommon enough in football, but foreign clubs winning those competitions is rarer still. Here are the other teams that have achieved the feat.
AS Monaco (Monaco → France)
Based in the Principality of Monaco but competing in the French league system since the early 20th century, Monaco have won Ligue 1 eight times, with titles spanning from 1960-61 to 2016-17. Unlike guest clubs in regional leagues, Monaco’s participation in France is a long-standing arrangement, making them one of the permanent outliers in European football’s national league structure.
Singapore FA (Singapore → Malaysia)
The representative Singapore side competed in Malaysian domestic football for decades and were one of the major cross-border participants in the competition. They won Malaysia’s top-flight league twice, in 1985 and 1994, and remain the second-most successful side in Malaysia Cup history with 24 titles.
LionsXII (Singapore → Malaysia)
Singapore returned to Malaysian domestic football in 2012 under a cross-border arrangement through LionsXII, who made an immediate impact by finishing second in their debut Malaysian Super League campaign before winning the title in 2013. The club also lifted the 2015 Malaysian FA Cup before exiting the football scene completely.
Albirex Niigata (S) (Japan → Singapore)
Albirex Niigata (S) became one of Singapore football’s most successful foreign clubs after joining the S.League in 2004 as a satellite side of Japan’s Albirex Niigata. They won their first league title in 2016 and added five more crowns in 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2023, along with multiple domestic cup wins. Their sustained dominance made Albirex the most successful foreign club in Singapore’s top-flight history, although the club are set to be rebranded as FC Jurong from next season and transition into a permanent local identity.
Étoile became the first foreign club to win Singapore’s top-flight title when they claimed the 2010 S.League championship in their debut season. Made up largely of French players, the guest club topped the table under coach Patrick Vallée in an experiment by Singapore football authorities to internationalise the competition. The club folded after the 2011 season due to financial difficulties.
DPMM (Brunei → Singapore)
Brunei’s DPMM won the 2015 S.League title, becoming the first Bruneian club to capture Singapore’s top-flight crown, before repeating the feat in 2019. Both were landmark moments for a club that had spent most of their existence competing outside Brunei’s domestic structure.
Derry City (Northern Ireland → Republic of Ireland)
Based in Northern Ireland but competing in the Republic of Ireland’s league system, Derry City won the League of Ireland Premier Division in 1988-89 and 1996-97. Their first title was part of a domestic treble, with them also winning the FAI Cup and League Cup in one of the most successful seasons in the club’s history.
Despite being based in Oswestry, England, The New Saints have dominated Welsh domestic football for much of the modern era. TNS are the most successful club in Cymru Premier history with 18 league titles along with a long period of sustained domestic cup dominance.
Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Busch passed away at the age of 41, NASCAR confirmed on Thursday.
The news broke just hours after Busch’s family announced that he had been hospitalised due to a severe illness and would miss the upcoming Coca-Cola 600 race weekend.
Busch was one of the defining figures of modern NASCAR, winning Cup Series titles in 2015 and 2019 while becoming the all-time winningest driver across NASCAR’s three national series with 234 victories.
He remained a full-time Cup Series driver in 2026, with his most recent race win coming in 2023.
Beyond his success in the Cup Series, Busch also dominated in NASCAR’s Xfinity and Truck Series, cementing his legacy as one of the most versatile and prolific winners the sport has ever seen.
Tributes quickly poured in from across the motorsport world following news of his passing, as teams, drivers and fans remembered one of NASCAR’s biggest stars.
Cristiano Ronaldo finally won his first Saudi Pro League title as Al Nassr were crowned 2025/26 champions following a 4-1 victory over Damac on the final day of the season.
The Riyadh giants, who had led the standings for much of the campaign, needed to match or better Al Hilal’s result to secure the crown, and they did just that in emphatic fashion.
Ronaldo delivered when it mattered most, scoring twice in the second half after Sadio Mane and Kingsley Coman had given Al Nassr a comfortable lead.
Morlaye Sylla briefly pulled one back for Damac, but the Portuguese superstar struck in the 62nd and 80th minutes to put the result beyond doubt.
Al Hilal, meanwhile, kept up their side of the battle with a 1-0 win over Al Fayha courtesy of Sultan Mandash, but it was not enough to deny Al Nassr the title.
The triumph ended Al Nassr’s seven-year wait for a Saudi Pro League crown and marked a major milestone for Ronaldo, who had been chasing domestic league success since joining the club from Manchester United in January 2023.
It was also the 41-year-old’s second trophy with Al Nassr after helping them lift the Arab Club Champions Cup in 2023.
Former Formula One driver David Coulthard was left impressed after taking Formula E’s next-generation Gen4 car for a test run on the streets of Monte Carlo.
The 13-time F1 Grand Prix winner got behind the wheel of the all-electric single-seater, which is set to make its competitive debut next season and is expected to become the fastest Formula E car ever built, during the Monaco E-Prix weekend.
The two-time Monaco Grand Prix winner said the acceleration and driving characteristics of the Gen4 machine delivered a completely different experience around the iconic street circuit.
“That is the most acceleration I’ve ever had at Monte Carlo and I won here twice,” said Coulthard.
“I’ve got to say, imagining where I’ve just driven it to where the actual [Formula E] drivers will take it, these guys are about to experience something that no one has ever experienced in racing.
“You cannot really compare between Gen4 and Gen3, state-of-the-art for its time, but just the movement of the car, a lot more loose on the rear, having the permanent four-wheel drive… Every exit is an acceleration like you’ve never experienced.”
One of the standout moments for Coulthard came through Monaco’s famous tunnel, where the sudden burst of speed left even the veteran racer stunned.
“First time through the tunnel, it was like a scene from Star Wars where everything goes warp speed,” he added.
“I’ve been through that tunnel thousands of times [but never have I experienced] the lights doing that.”
The Gen4 car marks a major step forward for Formula E, featuring permanent all-wheel drive, improved performance and significantly quicker acceleration as the championship looks to push its technology to a new level.
Coulthard’s glowing review added to the growing buzz around Formula E, which recently also saw F1 world champion Lando Norris reveal his interest in getting involved in the future.
