With Cristiano Ronaldo set to be 45 years old when Portugal hosts the 2030 World Cup alongside Spain and Morocco, one might think it’s unlikely that he’ll be on the squad for what would be his seventh World Cup.

But don’t tell that to Portugal’s manager Roberto Martinez.

“No one should doubt that (he could play in 2030),” Martinez said Thursday in an appearance on Cadena Ser radio. “He’s earned it.”

Ronaldo, who debuted for Portugal at 18 in August of 2003, is comfortably the country’s leader in all-time appearances (226, 80 more than Joao Moutinho) and goals (143, 96 more than Pauleta).

He led Portugal to the 2016 European Championship and to a fourth-place finish at the 2006 World Cup, the country’s best finish at a World Cup since a third-place showing in 1966.

A penalty-kick goal against Ghana at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar made him the first player to score at five different World Cups.

Ronaldo and Argentina’s Lionel Messi are set to simultaneously become the first players in history to appear in six World Cups at this summer’s event.

“I have worked with many players that have won a Champions League or a Ballon d’Or, and the next day they lose their appetite. What we have with Ronaldo is an example of a different mentality,” Martinez said.

“I believe that having that goal is what allows for longevity. Of course, there is a genetic aspect, the work he puts in – he uses everything that can help his body – and his mentality.”

Portugal, in Group K for the first-ever 48-team World Cup, opens play June 17 against the Democratic Republic of Congo in Houston.

–Field Level Media

With tensions between the union that represents 2,000-plus workers at SoFi Stadium and the stadium operators at their boiling point, Unite Here Local 11 has halted negotiations and authorized a strike vote, The Athletic reported Friday.

The vote is set to take place at the end of next week — just one week before the stadium in Inglewood, Calif., is scheduled to host the opening game of the 2026 World Cup in the United States. That game features the Americans against Paraguay on June 12.

The union represents workers in concession services, including the people who both prepare and serve the stadium’s food and beverages.

In all, eight World Cup matches are scheduled for SoFi Stadium, the home of both the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers of the NFL. The venue also is slated to host key events during the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The labor agreement between stadium operator Legends Global and United Here Local 11 has expired, and bargaining sessions have failed.

Kurt Petersen, the co-president of the union, told The Athletic that his group ended negotiations on Tuesday.

“We felt the company (Legends) were not taking the concerns and demands seriously enough,” Petersen said. “At midday (Tuesday), the workers told the company that we intend to proceed with a strike vote. The vote is scheduled for next week over two days on Thursday and Friday.”

In a statement to The Athletic, a Legends Global representative said about the potential strike vote: “Legends Global has enjoyed a strong relationship with Unite Here Local 11 for more than a decade and remains committed to reaching a fair agreement through good faith negotiations. We look forward to delivering an outstanding hospitality experience for fans at the FIFA World Cup matches at SoFi Stadium.”

The World Cup organizing committee in Los Angeles declined to comment on what impact a strike could have on the scheduled SoFi matches.

The union has made demands that include, according to The Athletic:

–A guarantee that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents will not be allowed on venue grounds during the World Cup, saying their presence could jeopardize employee safety. Government officials have said ICE agents would be on hand with security and not immigation enforcement their primary duty.

–Restricted use of subcontractors.

–No use of automation or artificial intelligence that could cause the loss of union jobs.

–Release of information to the union that would detail things such as work hours or the distribution of tips and service charges.

“Our members are clear,” Petersen told The Athletic. “They are angry about this. We recognize the World Cup is an extraordinary event but the lack of transparency and movement is raising concerns and this could impact the 2,000 food service workers at the stadium.

“If we were to strike, then FIFA has a significant problem because other workers may not be accredited, which is a whole process for them requiring background checks a while in advance and would not be straightforward to rush through.”

–Field Level Media

Thirteen races.

That is how deep we are in a wild 2026 with a new format, and the baker’s dozen also represents the halfway point of this wacky regular season.

How crazy is it?

For starters, defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Kyle Larson has unimaginably gone 37 consecutive regular-season points races without a win.

That’s like starting at the Daytona 500, failing to find Victory Lane during a frustrating season and coming back to Florida for the next Speedweeks after the calendar has flipped with a big zero in the win column.

It has been an entire campaign for the No. 5 car — plus one.

The craziness was truly evident Sunday night when Kyle Busch’s former trucks series driver and close friend Daniel Suarez notched his third win by beating Christopher Bell and Denny Hamlin when the heavens opened up and ended the Coca-Cola 600 after 373 laps, which turned the crown jewel event into the Coke 559.5.

However, the victory is penned into the record books just like the rain-shortened wins for Buddy Baker, Jimmie Johnson, David Reutimann and Bell. And also David Pearson’s 1974 victory that was trimmed to 360 laps for the nation’s energy crisis.

The win moved Suarez (-270 points) up to 10th in points from 14th, gridding him one spot behind teammate Carson Hocevar (-264) and giving Spire Motorsports two wins in 2026.

The next three drivers in front of the Spire ones in points are Bell, Chris Buescher and Larson, who have combined for exactly no wins.

Collect your payout if you had Spire Motorsports with two victories after 13 races while that trio of heavy hitters is completely winless.

“A bummer, just wasn’t meant to be today,” said Joe Gibbs Racing’s Bell, who won the 2024 600 after rain stopped it on Lap 249.

The frustrated No. 20 driver would not go all Milli Vanilli and blame it on the rain, adding, “That’s 2026 for us.”

This Sunday east of Nashville, the Cup Series will send out its best for the 300-lap Cracker Barrel 400 in Lebanon, Tenn.

It will be the sixth time for the series to travel to Nashville Superspeedway, a 1.33-mile, concrete, tri-oval track with 14 degrees of banking in the turns.

Of note, of course, is that it’s not that Nashville speedway, the venerable old short track that’s the second-longest running racing venue in the U.S.

That one is the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, where a Cup race was held every year from 1958 to 1984. More on that maybe later this season.

Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney is the defending winner in Nashville.

A dark-horse first-timer for Sunday night: Front Row Motorsports’ Zane Smith.

Then driving the No. 71 Chevrolet for Spire, the current No. 38 Ford driver finished a career-best second in the 2024 Music City event behind winner Joey Logano, who miraculously held on racing on fumes during multiple restarts in the 15-caution thriller that ran 31 extra laps.

Smith, 26, led 31 circuits in Sunday’s 600 and has been up front often this season.

“Comparing last year to this year, I really like where we’re at,” the Californian said. “I feel like we’ve taken that next step and are a lot stronger in a lot of areas. Our whole weekend seems to be going smoother and just better from a performance standpoint.”

Actually, Smith winning Sunday wouldn’t be that much of a longshot at all.

–Field Level Media