India, June 17 -- Houston rewrote history on 17th June. When the official team lineups were announced ahead of Portugal's long-awaited 2026 FIFA World Cup Group K opener against DR Congo, Cristiano Ronaldo once again entered footballing immortality. At 41, the Portuguese captain has become only the second player in the history of football to play in six different editions of the FIFA World Cup, after his eternal rival, Lionel Messi.

Messi secured his sixth tournament appearance just a day earlier with a record-matching hat-trick for Argentina, but Ronaldo's presence in the starting XI underlines his own unique longevity. The Al-Nassr forward debuted at the World Cup alongside a golden generation of Portuguese talent back in 2006, but has...