Cristiano Ronaldo says that Portugal has a shot at winning the 2014 World Cup later this year.
Ronaldo will be joined by other stars on the roster such as Fabio Coentrao and Rafa Silva.
Portugal is currently ranked No. 3 in the world.
Ronaldo says that he hopes to reach the final match of the World Cup, a title that has eluded him amid his range of other championship wins.
“That would crown a great career,” Ronaldo told So Foot Junior magazine in a recent interview. “I know it will be difficult, but everything is possible with work. I have always watched the players who performed the best, and by observing them I understood one thing -- what makes the difference between good players and stars is their work. I have played with footballers who had incredible talent, and it’s difficult to say if they were better than me, but where they fell down was in consistency. Many players are good for five, 10 or 15 games, but you must play well for 60 games a season.”
Ronaldo also revealed that he believes that although he has made mistakes he has learned lessons from them.
“I have made many mistakes, but I am happy to have done that, because I have become better -- as a player and as a human being,” he said. “I am calmer now, less impulsive. I make better decisions on the pitch. Becoming a father has also helped me to be more cold-blooded, and more patient. Time has done its work. The fans might have had a bad image of me at the start of my career, because of certain gestures or attitudes.”
Portugal will begin its World Cup play on June 16 against Germany before playing the United States on June 22 and Ghana on June 26.
