Chances of Portugal in the 2026 FIFA World Cup

Portugal have the BEST starting midfield in the world cup(Bruno, Vitinha and Joao Neves), the BEST Fullback pair and depth(Nuno Mendes and M. Nunes with cancelo, semedo, dalot as backup) and reliable CBs in Ruben Dias, Inacio and Thomas Araujo and great 1st and 2nd choice GKs.
Everyone is expecting them to go deep in the tournament and some even have them as favourites for the WC.

But for them to go all the way in this WC some questions needs to be answered:

1. Will Roberto Martinez finally get the right balance in their lineup and play the brand of football that best suits these set of players and not commit crimes like playing Joao Neves as RB or benching him for Ruben Neves who clearly has not got the legs to run a midfield at the highest level.

2. Ronaldo needs to reflect on himself and his physical condition at this stage and communicate what type of game he is capable of playing in this world cup as his touch has got rusty, he doesn't have that explosiveness on the ball anymore and his ability to dribble out of tight spaces and control the ball has also eroded and most importantly his minutes needs to be managed as he's no longer gonna play 90 game in game out. He needs to come out and express that he will only play as an outlet to the team and do what he still does best in the world, that is poaching the ball, playing quick one two combinations, being active in and around the opposition box and being clutch and clinical in front of goal.

3. Apart from Ronaldo who exactly is gonna be the one in the attack to fill in for the goals, no other attacker in the squad has shown promise that they could be reliable to deliver some goals consistently without the team being fully dependent on ronaldo. Sure Felix and Trincao have had great seasons individually but they are not likely to start considering their profile. Leao, Neto, Concecao need to bring the game of their life and Bruno needs to do some extra heavy lifting in terms of putting up goals then and there alongside creating chances.

4. Bruno Fernandes needs to continue his form into the world cup and needs to carry this team in terms of attack and creativity. If he continues the PEAK performances throughout the WC portugal will surely go deep in the tournament.

5. The biggest question is that despite having the greatest squad in their history going into this WC will they perform like a TEAM and show that their Nations League win wasn't a fluke and they are now a team and not a group of great individual players. Will they be able to unlock the chemistry and teamwork at the right time and finally perform as a team which is solely focused behind the goal of winning the WC and giving it their all for the sake of their late teammate who was supposed to be alongside them in this journey and the legacy of Ronaldo who has carried their national team on his back throughout his career when they lacked leverage.