In 2019, when the UEFA Nations League was first held, Ronaldo's Portugal won the championship. At that time, this tournament was quite strange, many analysts also assessed it as no different from a semi-friendly tournament, organized just to make international friendly matches, World Cup qualifiers or EURO in Europe less boring.
That year, after winning the title with the Portuguese team, Ronaldo was not rated too highly because the tournament's appeal was limited. However, when receiving this title, CR7 left a symbolic image. He carries the Nations League silver cup on his shoulder with a majestic face.
Since then, that image of Ronaldo has always been remembered as one of the first impressions of the Nations League. Although it is a newly formed tournament, with the mindset of a conqueror, CR7 feels very appreciated and satisfied to win it.
6 years after that moment, Portugal was crowned again and Ronaldo was still the captain of this team. They defeated Spain in the final, the team that just won the EURO 2024 championship and is considered the strongest in the world.
At the moment of receiving the title from the organizing committee, Ronaldo repeated the iconic image 6 years ago. He continued to carry the trophy on his shoulder but now he is no longer a handsome face. CR7 smiled satisfyingly a few minutes before, he cried like a child, not daring to look at the final penalty shootout to bring the "European Selecao" to the championship.
Ronaldo is 40 years old, the age at which many stars choose to retire, coming to watch the match as spectators. As for CR7, the conquest of the title has not stopped. Even in this tournament, he was the top scorer with 8 goals in 9 matches. In the semi-finals, Ronaldo scored the decisive goal to score 2-1 to defeat Germany. In the final, he scored an equalizer 2-2, helping Portugal hold the defending Spanish champions to a draw after the official match.
The Nations League is getting larger and better quality. This year's semi-final round will see the participation of Germany, France, Spain and Portugal, excellent representatives who were former European champions. The matches taking place from the semi-finals to the finals are as attractive and captivating as the matches at EURO or the World Cup.
Ronaldo has won such a tournament, again in 6 years. Portugal is the first team to win the Nations League twice and is also the first team to lift the cup in the history of the tournament. In times like that, CR7 is always the captain.
At the big end, Portuguese football has changed completely since Ronaldo's appearance at EURO 2004. Before that, they were only a good team in Europe, not often participating in major tournaments and were left empty-handed for 75 years. After 2004, Portugal participated in 6 consecutive EUROs and 5 World Cups. They have won EURO 2016 and the Nations League (2019, 2025). In all three of those trophies, Ronaldo was the captain, proving his greatness to the "European Selecao".
Ronaldo deserves the rewards after the recent final and once again reminded the football world that he still has enough desire and class to conquer the 2026 World Cup in the US.
The current generation of Portuguese football is very strong with countless players at the peak and bright young talents. Ronaldo cannot do anything alone, but if there are teammates around him, plus his own class, he can completely touch the last glory in his already overly fulfilling career.
