Portugal #7 Cristiano Ronaldo shows despondency after the team’s 0-1 loss in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 match between Portugal and Spain at Dallas Stadium on July 6, 2026 in Arlington, Texas.
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The 2026 FIFA World Cup was full of stunning upsets and emotional victories. But perhaps the most bittersweet were the final dances of some of the greatest footballers of a generation.
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, Brazil’s Neymar, Mexico’s Guillermo Ochoa and Germany’s Manuel Neuer were just some of the players taking part in their final World Cup – collapsing in tears, bowing to fans and kissing the post before saying goodbye.
Ronaldo’s run ended on Monday after Portugal lost 1-0 to Spain. The Portuguese superstar was 21 when he made his first World Cup appearance. This summer he scored his sixth achievement – a feat shared only by Argentine Lionel Messi.
At 41, Ronaldo returned as the second-youngest player at this year’s World Cup. However, he scored three goals, proving that he is a force to be reckoned with.
Now he returns home without winning a world title. But on Sunday, after confirming it would be his last tournament, Ronaldo said he was simply enjoying every moment on the pitch.
“God has been so generous to me. He gave me everything. Much more than I ever expected to achieve,” he told reporters on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Brazil’s top scorer Neymar, 34, completed his last dance on the same New Jersey field where he made his international debut back in 2010. On Sunday, his team lost to Norway 2-1, with Neymar scoring Brazil’s only goal from the penalty spot. He did this despite a serious calf injury that forced him to miss most of the tournament.
Brazil’s number 10 forward Neymar reacts after losing the 2026 World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Brazil and Norway at New York/New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford on July 5, 2026.
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After the final whistle, Neymar knelt, lowered his head and cried before a teammate came to console him.
“I tried,” Neymar said after the game, according to the AP. “It all started here at MetLife Stadium and I ended here. It’s all over now.”
Last month the crowd went wild when Mexico’s veteran goalkeeper Ochoa came on as a substitute for the final 18 minutes of a match against the Czech Republic.
Mexico’s number 13 goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa reacts after losing the 2026 World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Mexico and England at Mexico City Stadium in Mexico City on July 5, 2026.
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After the game, Ochoa, who is 40 and the third-youngest player in the tournament, kissed the bar and made a tearful bow to his fans before leaving the field. Mexico lost 3-2 to England on Sunday.
“I enjoyed every moment here. I gave it my all. I leave peacefully and with my head held high, and I am proud to have survived this,” Ochoa said in FIFA’s “Letters That Unite” video series published on June 15.
40-year-old German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, considered one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, has withdrawn from the national team to represent his home country for the last time.
The team only reached the last 16 after losing to Paraguay in a penalty shootout, but Neuer said he left with great gratitude.
Manuel Neuer #1 of Germany leaves the field after losing in a penalty shootout during the 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 match between Germany and Paraguay at Boston Stadium on June 29, 2026 in Foxboro, Massachusetts.
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“Despite the bitter ending, I don’t regret this step for a second,” he wrote on Instagram.
Neuer added that he returned partly to support the team’s young players. In a sense, these last dances are simply a passing of the baton.
“It’s the next generation’s turn to play,” Algerian Riyad Mahrez, 35, said after his team exited the World Cup earlier this month, the AP reported.
Riyad Mahrez #7 of Algeria applauds fans after a 0-2 loss during the 2026 FIFA World Cup Round of 16 match between Switzerland and Algeria at BC Place Vancouver on July 2, 2026 in Vancouver, British Columbia.
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Mahrez retires from international football as a five-time Premier League winner and one of Africa’s best players.
Many assumed that the 2022 World Cup would be Messi’s child.
Instead, the 39-year-old Argentine GOAT returned this summer to possibly lift the trophy for the second time in a row – unseen since Brazil’s back-to-back victories in 1958 and 1962 and ending on the highest note.
