Tafiyar Cristiano Ronaldo a gasar Kofin Duniya ta ƙare — ba tare da kofin da ya tsere masa a cikin aiki mai rikodin tarihi ba. An fitar da Portugal a zagaye na 16 na Kofin Duniya 2026, suna ɗauke da asara 1-0 a hannun Spain a Dallas, inda Mikel Merino ya ci ƙwallo mai yanke hukunci a lokacin ƙarin wasa.

Ronaldo, wanda yake da shekaru 41, yana kuka lokacin da sarewa ta ƙarshe ta yi. Ya riga ya sanar da cewa wannan zai zama Kofin Duniya nasa na ƙarshe, kuma lokacin da aka tambaye shi game da makomar sa a tawagar ƙasa, ya ce: "Zan hadu da iyalina kuma zan yanke shawarar tare da tunanin nutsuwa."

Ronaldo ya ci nasara Ballon d'Or sau biyar, ya ci UEFA Champions League sau biyar, kuma shi ne zakara na Turai na 2016. Ya ci ƙwallaye 976 ga kulubobinsa da ƙasarsa — tarihin duniya. Ya ci ƙwallo a gasar Kofin Duniya shida — tarihi ɗaya kuma — amma mafi kyawun aikinsa a cikin gasar shi ne kaiwa semi-final a shekarar 2006 a farko-farkonsa.

Martinez yana barin mukaminsa

Kocin Roberto Martinez ya sanar da barin aikinsa nan da nan bayan sarewa ta ƙarshe, yana yaba wa Ronaldo a matsayin "gumakan ƙwallon ƙafa." Ya ce: "Muna bukatar godewa shi saboda abin da ya yi ƙoƙari ya yi a wannan Kofin Duniya. Mafarkinsa shi ne ya lashe wannan Kofin Duniya, ya yi hakan da misali mai ban sha'awa."

Ba'ispaninnan, wanda a baya ya jagoranci Swansea, Wigan da Everton, ya kula da Belgium tsakanin 2016 da 2022, yana kai su zuwa semi-final a Kofin Duniya 2018 kafin su yi asara a hannun France. Ya ɗauki ragamar Portugal a 2023 kuma ya lashe Gasar Ƙasashe a shekarar da ta gabata, amma yana barin bayan wannan ficewa. Ya ce: "Na zo Portugal da manufar cin Kofin Duniya kuma saboda ban yi nasara ba, da ba ma'ana a ci gaba. Kwantiratina ya ƙare yau."

Tambayar Ronaldo

Tambayar ko Ronaldo ya cancanci wuri a cikin farkon ƙungiyar ya kasance babban jigo a gasar manyan ƙasashe na kwanan nan. Ƙwallayensa 146 na duniya rikodin ce a ƙwallon ƙafa na maza, amma masu suka sun kasance suna cewa baya ba da taimako mai yawa a wajen yankin abokin gaba.

Mai sharhi na BBC Chris Sutton, wanda yake a Texas don BBC Radio 5 Live, bai yi rushi ba wajen sukarsa. Ya ce: "Yana tafiya a fili kamar kaka, wannan shi ne dalilin da ya sa Portugal ta fita. Cristiano Ronaldo bai yi komai ba; bai yi komai ba."

Yan wasa huɗu daga rukunin Portugal sun taimaka Paris St-Germain ya lashe taken UEFA Champions League biyu da suka gabata a jere: ɗan wasa na hagu Nuno Mendes, ƴan wasan tsakiya Vitinha da Joao Neves, da ɗan wasan gaba Goncalo Ramos, wanda ya shiga AC Milan wannan lokacin rani. Bruno Fernandes na Manchester United an zaɓe shi a matsayin ƙwararre mafi kyau a kakar wasan Premier League. Duk da haka, Portugal bai zarce zagaye na 16 ba.

Ronaldo ya kammala gasar da ƙwallaye uku — biyu a kan Uzbekistan da ƙwallon fenariti a kan Croatia. Duk da haka, ƴan wasa 10 sun fi shi ƙwallaye. Ya ƙirƙiri wata dama ɗaya kawai ga abokin wasansa a wasanni biyar, kuma ƴan wasa 366 sun taɓa ƙwallon sau da yawa fiye da shi duk da cewa ya buga kusan kowace dakika ta wasannin Portugal biyar.

Muhawara kan GOAT ta ci gaba

Hamayya tsakanin Ronaldo da Lionel Messi ta sake fasalta ainihin masu sha'awar ƙwallon ƙafa fiye da shekaru goma. Wani shingen ɗaya ya tsaya: Messi ya lashe Kofin Duniya 2022 tare da Argentina a Qatar, yayin da Ronaldo ke yin ritaya daga aikin ƙasa ba tare da lashe kofin ba.

A matakinta na yanzu, Messi yana da tasiri mafi girma: shi ne ɗaya daga cikin waɗanda suka yi daidai a saman masu ci ƙwallo a wannan gasar da ƙwallaye bakwai — adadin da ya ci a 2022 ma. Ronaldo yana da ƙwallaye huɗu a waɗannan gasar biyu.

Tsohon abokin wasansa Ronaldo a Manchester United, Wayne Rooney, ya ce: "Shi haziki ne, babban tauraro. Abin da ya ba ƙwallon ƙafa da miliyoyin mutane ba kasafai ake samunsa ba. Zai yi takaici saboda ya yi imani zai iya lashe wannan gasar. Amma lokaci yana kowa. Ranar baƙin ciki ce ga ƙwallon ƙafa."

Masu goyon bayan Portugal a Dallas sun nuna baƙin ciki, amma sun nuna godiya ma. Ɗaya ya ce: "Ɗaya daga cikin mafarkai na shi ne ganin Ronaldo da fuska. Ba lallai ne mu yi kuka ba — ya kamata mu yi farin ciki saboda mun gan shi."