The China Mail - Portugal's Ronaldo hoping Ireland fans boo him

Portugal will reach the 2026 World Cup finals with a victory and Ronaldo said if the crowd focused on him it could take pressure off his team-mates.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner is aiming to play at a sixth World Cup next summer and Portugal lead qualifying Group F by five points with two matches remaining.

"The stadium will boo me, I'm used to it, I certainly hope they do -- maybe it will take the pressure off other players," Ronaldo told a news conference Wednesday.

Ronaldo said he expected it would be a "difficult" match, with Ireland sitting back and denying him and his team-mates space.

The former Manchester United and Real Madrid forward was also asked about the possibility of scoring his 1000th career goal in the World Cup final.

"You've been watching too many movies, that would be too perfect," laughed Ronaldo, 40.

"Getting back to reality, all this data makes me happy. A national team never depends on one player, but I like being able to make a difference with goals.

"It's always good to score goals, that's my position. I want to play in this next World Cup, otherwise I wouldn't be here, but let's take it step by step."

Ronaldo, currently playing at Saudi Arabia side Al Nassr, has scored 953 goals in his career to date.

The striker is the leading men's international goalscorer with 143 goals and said Tuesday he believes the 2026 World Cup will be his last and he expects to retire from football within a couple of years.

However on Wednesday Ronaldo said he preferred to focus on the team's goal of qualifying rather than discuss his future in the game.

"There's no point in being repetitive and losing focus," he added.

"Maybe later on I'll give more interviews and speak more clearly about what I think for the future, but Portugal has another opportunity to be in another finals."

K.Lam--ThChM