Cristiano Ronaldo: Why His Old World Cup Comments Are Making News Again at FIFA World Cup 2026

The emotional reactions from the coaches of Curaçao and Japan are making everyone talk. It shows just how much the FIFA World Cup means to some people. The Curaçao coach was moved to tears when his team scored, and the Japan coach also got emotional during the national anthem.

For any country that loves football, just playing in the World Cup is a massive deal. It's the same for the players too. Many consider just getting a spot in their country's World Cup squad a turning point in their career. We all saw how Neymar broke down in tears when he found out he was in Brazil's squad, especially after coming back from an injury.

We saw some more of these emotional moments in the recent matches. One such moment involved the coach of Curaçao, who were playing in their first-ever World Cup. Curaçao is a tiny country with a population of just 155,826. They were up against European giants Germany, so nobody really gave them a chance.

Germany scored first, but then, Curaçao scored a shocking equaliser. Just imagine! Their first goal, in their first World Cup match, against the mighty Germany and their legendary keeper Manuel Neuer. After the goal, the Curaçao coach, Dick Advocaat, got super emotional. Even though his team lost the match by a big margin, he was full of praise. He said, "I am completely satisfied with the discipline and courage the players showed on the field."

Then there was that moment with Japan's coach, Hajime Moriyasu. His eyes were full of tears while their national anthem was playing. He was clearly overwhelmed with emotion, but he was right there on the sideline, shouting instructions to his team throughout the game. You can bet there are many more such moments the cameras don't catch. For these teams, playing on the world stage is everything.

Now, with these two incidents going viral on social media, people are digging up old comments from Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. There was a time, before Argentina won the World Cup, when Ronaldo said winning the trophy for his country was his biggest dream. But a few years later, his tune changed. He started calling the World Cup just a small tournament where a team gets to play only 6-7 matches. He even said that winning the World Cup was no longer his dream.

It's this 'double standard' that's now being debated all over social media. His comments seem even more out of place when you see players and coaches who think just participating is the biggest honour. People are using the examples of Curaçao and Japan to make their point.