Ronaldo Leads Portugal Amid Grief for Diogo Jota

Lionel Messi lit the fuse. A hat-trick, records matched, another night when the World Cup bent to his will and North America felt like his personal stage.

Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland joined in with braces of their own, the sport’s present and future trading blows under the lights.

Now it’s Cristiano Ronaldo’s turn.

The 39-year-old walks into this tournament opener not just as a fading superstar chasing one last roar, but as captain of a Portugal side carrying something far heavier than expectation: the memory of Diogo Jota.

Playing for Jota

Jota’s death, in a car crash last year that also claimed the life of his brother André Silva, ripped a hole through two dressing rooms and a nation. Less than two weeks earlier, he had married his long-term partner, Rute Cardoso. Three children. A life cresting into its prime. Then gone.

Liverpool teammates have spoken openly of a season played in a fog, their minds drifting back to a friend they never had the chance to say goodbye to properly. For Portugal’s players, the grief has followed them into this World Cup.

Jota would have been here. In camp. In the line-up discussions. In the jokes at dinner and the music on the bus. Instead, he has been named an honorary member of Roberto Martínez’s squad, a gesture that underlines the sense that he is still part of this group.

Portugal’s Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, handed every player a bracelet bearing their name alongside Jota’s. The squad will wear them in Houston for the opener against DR Congo, a quiet symbol on their wrists in the noise of a World Cup.

“They made sure that it was a wristband that we could wear on the pitch,” midfielder Vitinha told reporters. “He let us choose if we wanted to use it or not, during the day or during the match. We received it with a lot of affection and we chose to use it.”

The words are simple. The weight behind them is not.

“We feel this and we want to win it, not just because it’s a World Cup and it’s everybody’s dream, but for him as well,” Vitinha told CNN Sports earlier this year.

For Portugal, every knockout conversation, every tactical debate, now runs alongside a quieter, more personal mission: to carry Jota’s dream as far as they can.

Portugal vs. DR Congo: Ronaldo and a midfield built for dominance

Kickoff: 1 p.m. ET
Venue: NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas, USA

Grief will hang in the background. On the pitch, though, all eyes will slide, inevitably, to Ronaldo.

He is no longer the force who shredded defenses a decade ago. The legs are slower, the first step less explosive. Yet Martínez still has a decision that no coach takes lightly: does he build around a legend’s aura or trust the ruthless logic of form?

The case for caution is obvious. Ronaldo struggled at Qatar 2022, his influence shrinking until he lost his starting place. The case for faith is equally blunt. As Messi reminded the world last night, class doesn’t retire on command, and Ronaldo has never forgotten where the goal is.

Behind him, Portugal may have the most balanced midfield in the tournament. Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha, Bernardo Silva and João Neves offer control, craft and bite in equal measure. It’s a quartet that can smother games or slice them open, often in the same five minutes.

The question is whether Ronaldo amplifies that strength or clogs the gears.

DR Congo will not arrive in Houston to play the role of willing victim. Yoane Wissa, sharp and relentless, is the obvious threat up front, the player most likely to punish any complacency. Around him, the plan is clear: stay compact, keep structure, and wait for Portugal to overcommit.

Portugal must find a way to honor Jota with emotion and still play with clarity. World Cups have a habit of punishing teams that confuse sentiment with strategy.

England vs. Croatia: old scars, new leader

Kickoff: 4 p.m. ET
Venue: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas, USA

Another familiar story resumes in Dallas. England and Croatia meet again, and with them come echoes of 2018, when Croatia shattered English hopes in the World Cup semifinals.

England arrive, as ever, with a suitcase full of expectation and a history book full of pain. Sixty years have passed since the country last lifted this trophy, and still every new generation is handed the same burden: make this the summer that ends the wait.

Thomas Tuchel, now in charge, has chosen chemistry over celebrity. He has left out big names such as Cole Palmer and Phil Foden, a decision that underlines his belief that cohesion matters more than cramming every star into the same XI.

Yet this is no underdog story. Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane will spearhead a squad that has the tools to go deep again. Rice to shield and set tempo, Bellingham to surge and improvise, Kane to finish and create.

Across from them stands a familiar tormentor. Croatia, with 40-year-old Luka Modrić still dictating the rhythm, know exactly how to unsettle England. They’ve done it before. They believe they can do it again.

For a nation that sings about football “coming home,” this feels less like a fresh chapter and more like a test of whether the scars of the past have finally hardened into something useful.

Messi’s quiet march through the record book

While Ronaldo steels himself for Houston, Messi has already rewritten another line of World Cup history.

His hat-trick against Algeria drew him level with Miroslav Klose for most goals in the competition’s history. He answered questions afterward with typical modesty, but the numbers are becoming almost impossible to track in real time. Every game seems to produce a new milestone, another line on a list that has long since become absurd.

Messi has now scored five World Cup goals from outside the box, matching Brazilian great Rivellino. It’s a statistic that fits the eye test: even on the biggest stage, he still finds time and space to pick a spot from distance and make it look routine.

In Buenos Aires, fans poured into the streets to celebrate his first World Cup hat-trick, as if they needed another reason to worship him. For everyone else, it felt like a reminder: this era of giants isn’t done yet.

Iran’s visa saga eases, finally

Not every World Cup storyline unfolds on grass.

Iran’s national team has endured more logistical turbulence than any other side this summer. With political tensions limiting their movements, the squad has had to base itself in Mexico and fly into the United States for matches.

Then came another snag. After Iran’s first game, winger Mehdi Torabi discovered his visa had expired, leaving his participation in doubt.

The issue has now been resolved. A State Department official told CNN’s Jennifer Hansler that Torabi has been granted a new multi-entry visa, allowing him to play in as many matches as Iran manage this tournament.

“As soon as we became aware of the issue, we worked to ensure that the player can participate in every game,” the official said.

For Iran, already juggling travel fatigue and political complexity, it’s one less hurdle in a World Cup that has offered them very few favors.

Ghana vs. Panama: a missed golden era and a window of hope

Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET
Venue: BMO Field, Toronto, Canada

Panama return to the World Cup stage hoping to rewrite a bruising first chapter. In 2018, Los Canaleros lost all three group games, including a 6-1 hammering by England, and left without a single point.

This time, they look at Ghana and see opportunity. If Panama are to claim their first World Cup point, this opener might be their best shot.

Ghana, once tipped as Africa’s best bet for a world champion, have never quite recovered from the trauma of 2010, when that infamous quarterfinal exit stopped them one step from history. Since then, they haven’t escaped the group stage.

This version of the Black Stars lacks some of the attacking firepower of previous generations, but there is still menace. Manchester City’s Antoine Semenyo arrives in form, a forward capable of turning half-chances into headlines.

They will, however, be without Thomas Partey for the opener. The 33-year-old midfielder had his visa application rejected, a decision upheld by a Canadian federal judge earlier this week, according to the Associated Press. Partey is awaiting trial on rape charges in the United Kingdom, but he is expected to be available for Ghana’s remaining two group matches in the United States.

For Ghana, it’s a delicate balance: trying to rediscover their old swagger while navigating a squad disrupted before a ball has even been kicked.

Uzbekistan vs. Colombia: a debut under Cannavaro’s gaze

Kickoff: 10 p.m. ET
Venue: Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico

At the Estadio Azteca, a new World Cup chapter begins.

Uzbekistan, the last of this year’s debutants, finally steps into the tournament. Led by Fabio Cannavaro, the Italian defender who lifted the trophy in 2006, the White Wolves arrive with more pedigree on the touchline than in the squad, but that might suit them. Expectations are low. Curiosity is high.

Defender Abdukodir Khusanov is the standout name. At 22, he is already a regular starter for Manchester City, with strong performances in both the Premier League and Champions League. His presence at the back gives Uzbekistan a foundation and a face, the kind of player who can turn an unknown into a story.

Colombia, by contrast, know this stage well. James Rodríguez, still the creative heartbeat, returns to the competition that once defined his career back in 2014. He will be flanked by Luis Díaz, one of the most in-form wingers in world football this season, a constant threat on the flank and in transition.

Uzbekistan will try to become the only one of the four debutants to win their opening match. Against this experienced Colombia, that would be quite a way to announce themselves.

Ebola shadows DR Congo’s World Cup moment

Away from tactics and lineups, a darker storyline runs alongside DR Congo’s World Cup adventure.

Health officials are battling an Ebola outbreak in the country that could, in the words of the head of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, become the “worst ever” in the area if it isn’t contained. More than 800 cases have been confirmed in the Democratic Republic of Congo as of Monday.

The challenge is immense. The affected region is remote yet densely populated, and it is already grappling with insecurity and humanitarian crises. The outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which there are no specific treatments or vaccines.

US authorities have moved to limit the risk. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Homeland Security have introduced entry restrictions and screening for passengers arriving from the DRC, Uganda and South Sudan. No cases have been detected in the United States. The World Health Organization says the risk is very high inside the DRC, but low globally.

During the World Cup, US health officials are tracking a range of viral threats. Ebola, though terrifying in reputation, is not at the top of their list. In the early stages of infection, it doesn’t spread easily. Once a patient becomes very sick and highly infectious, they are far too unwell to travel or attend a match.

So DR Congo step into their World Cup opener with a nation watching under twin spotlights: one fixed on a football pitch in Houston, the other on an outbreak at home that could define far more than a summer of sport.

On nights like this, the World Cup feels both huge and small at once. The question for Portugal, England, Ghana and the rest is simple: what will they make of the stage while they have it?