Costa Praises Cristiano Ronaldo's Performance at the 2026 World Cup, Mentions Lionel Messi

Former Portugal national team player Ricardo Costa has defended Cristiano Ronaldo's performances at the 2026 World Cup. Costa stated that criticism directed at Ronaldo following Portugal's elimination in the Round of 16 is unfair. He drew a comparison to Lionel Messi, who also delivered an underwhelming performance during the final match against Spain.

Ronaldo competed at the 2026 World Cup at the age of 41. This sparked widespread debate over whether the Portugal captain still deserved selection as Selecao das Quinas' first choice forward.

At the time, Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez placed full trust in Ronaldo, fielding the striker in all five of Portugal's matches starting from the group stage.

Despite scoring three goals across five appearances, Ronaldo's contributions were ultimately not enough to carry Portugal on a deeper run in the tournament.

Selecao das Quinas' campaign came to an end in the Round of 16 following a 0-1 defeat to Spain, who would go on to win the entire World Cup. This result once again brought fresh public criticism towards Ronaldo.

Ricardo Costa Defends Ronaldo

According to Costa, Martinez's decision to keep playing Ronaldo deserves respect, as it was made based on the coach's professional on-field judgement.

"I think we have to recognise Cristiano Ronaldo's achievement for continuing to compete at the absolute highest level," he told O Jogo.

Costa added that public judgement of Ronaldo would almost certainly have been entirely different had Portugal progressed all the way to the final match.

"If Portugal had made it to the final, nobody would be scrutinising these choices this heavily. Since things did not go as expected, this criticism is understandable. Even so, we still have to respect these coaching decisions," he stated.

For Costa, Ronaldo continued to hold a vital role for the squad despite being 41 years old. He noted that Ronaldo's experience and natural goalscoring ability remained valuable assets for Portugal.

"Cristiano is still an extremely, extremely important player. He had good moments throughout the tournament and scored consistently. After all, Messi did not shine in that final against Spain either, and hardly anyone is talking about that," he added.

Ronaldo And Messi Operated In Different Circumstances

Costa drew the comparison between Ronaldo and Messi as both veteran global stars were under intense worldwide scrutiny throughout the 2026 World Cup, even though their respective national teams ended their campaigns under very different circumstances.

Messi remained the central driving figure in Argentina's run to the final. The Albiceleste captain finished the tournament with eight goals and four assists.

These contributions carried Argentina to a second consecutive World Cup final. However, Messi struggled to impose himself on the match when facing Spain in the title decider.

Costa argued that a single player's performance in one final match should never erase or overshadow all the contributions they delivered across the entire full tournament.

This same standard should apply to Ronaldo, whose achievement competing at World Cup level aged 41 deserves appreciation regardless of the team's final result.

Three goals in five matches proves that he remains capable of performing at elite international level, even if Portugal ultimately failed to meet their pre-tournament targets at the 2026 World Cup.