FIFA places Ronaldo ban on hold allowing opener role in 2026 World Cup

Portugal icon Cristiano Ronaldo is cleared to feature in the early fixtures of the 2026 World Cup since the international football authority FIFA has imposed a conditional hold on his suspension on Tuesday after a sending off incident.

The 40 year old received his marching orders during Portugals 2 0 defeat in Dublin back in November after striking Dara OShea in the back with his elbow marking his initial ejection across 226 caps for his nation.

FIFA issued a three game penalty to Ronaldo with two games placed on hold and the first one completed during Portugals successful qualification push for the upcoming summer event against Armenia.

Consistent with section 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code the enforcement of the other two games is deferred for a 12 month trial duration stated FIFA in an announcement provided to AFP.

Should Cristiano Ronaldo incur another violation of comparable severity and seriousness within the trial window the withheld penalty from the disciplinary ruling will activate without delay and the two pending games will apply right away to Portugals subsequent competitive outings.

Ronaldo holding the record for most goals in mens international football at 143 strikes is targeting participation in a sixth World Cup edition next summer across venues in the United States Mexico and Canada.

The ex Real Madrid and Manchester United forward now with Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia has yet to claim the World Cup honour though he guided Portugal to victory in Euro 2016.

Last week Ronaldo joined a meal at the White House encountering US President Donald Trump who mentioned his son Barron counts himself among the strikers keen supporters.

The draw for the World Cup group phase occurs on December 5.