India, June 4 -- "We can win it and shouldn't be afraid to say it." The squad brimming with talent, it is not difficult to understand why Francisco Conceicao said that in an interview to The Athletic while talking about Portugal's chances in the World Cup. This was not long after Bruno Fernandes telling Wayne Rooney in April that he wanted the World Cup "not just for Portugal, for everything Cristiano Ronaldo gave to football."

Like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo is headed to his sixth finals, one where he will join Luka Modric and Edin Dzeko as outfield players who are in their fifth decade. It is even possible that a first-ever World Cup meeting between Argentina and Portugal, Ronaldo and Messi, will happen in the knockout rounds, as ...