New Delhi, June 16 (IANS) Former English footballer and commentator Paul Masefield is backing Portugal to win the FIFA World Cup 2026, saying the squad could rally around Cristiano Ronaldo in the same way Argentina united behind Lionel Messi during their triumphant campaign in Qatar four years ago.

Asked to pick his favourites for the tournament, Masefield, who is part of the expert panel for ZEE5’s coverage for the FIFA World Cup 2026, said Portugal’s blend of quality, experience, and motivation makes them strong contenders to lift the trophy.

“If I look player-for-player, team-for-team, the groups and everything, it may shock and surprise a few people, but I’m going to Portugal,” Masefield told IANS in an exclusive interaction.

The former player believes Ronaldo’s expected final World Cup appearance could inspire the Portuguese squad to produce something special.

“Ronaldo is finally going to end his wait in the last World Cup. The players are going to do what the Argentinian team did for Messi in the last edition of the competition,” he said.

“Messi had never won the World Cup, and the team galvanised around him. It was a magnificent performance from him in the final, and they gave him a World Cup as a going-away present. He’s still here for another one, but this is definitely the last song for Ronaldo,” he added.

Masefield feels Portugal have the depth and quality required to challenge for the biggest prize in football. “With the squad and the players that they have there, they could just galvanise around Ronaldo, and they’ll go very deep into the competition,” he added.

Portugal’s best performance at the FIFA World Cup is a 3rd-place finish in 1966. They have qualified for the finals nine times (including the 2026 edition) but have never won the tournament. Their most recent campaign in 2022 ended in the quarter-finals.

Masefield also assessed England’s chances under head coach Thomas Tuchel, praising the German manager’s impact but stopping short of backing the Three Lions to win the tournament.

“Obviously, being English, I’d love to see the country do it. Thomas Tuchel has turned around, and what he’s done is he’s got himself a team rather than certain individuals that can have creativity and flair, and I think that can help in itself,” he said.

“Will they go on to win the World Cup? I personally don’t think it’s England’s time. I’d like to see them get through to the latter stages of the competition, but for me, I don’t think you can look past the likes of Portugal and France. I think Spain haven’t done themselves any favours,” he added.

England will be looking to end their major football title drought at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the last of which came in the 1966 edition of this competition. In the intervening years, they have twice reached the semi-finals, in 1990 and 2018. But their victory on home soil 60 years ago remains the sole triumph.

–IANS

sds/bsk/