Had Portugal topped its group instead of finishing behind Colombia, and had both teams continued to advance, Ronaldo and Messi could have met in the quarterfinals.

　　"It would be top," Ronaldo said of the potential showdown after scoring twice in Portugal's 5-0 group-stage thrashing of Uzbekistan, his best performance at this year's tournament.

　　For a player who conquered nearly every other challenge the sport could offer, that sense of "what if" will accompany Ronaldo's World Cup farewell.

　　Martinez proud

　　Martinez praised his players' commitment after the heartbreaking 1-0 defeat.

　　"It was not a defeat in the sense of how we competed," Martinez said.

　　"We played against one of the favorites, we looked each other in the eye, and we stayed true to our values. We tried until the very end and gave everything we had."

　　The Portugal coach said knockout soccer is often decided by the smallest moments, rather than the overall balance of play.

　　"When you have great teams facing each other, that's what happens," he said. "Sometimes the ball goes in, sometimes it doesn't. Sometimes a substitute scores the decisive goal. Those details make the difference between winning a World Cup or not."

　　Martinez said Portugal's performance should be viewed in the context of the team's consistency in recent years, highlighting its ability to qualify regularly for major tournaments and compete with the world's elite, despite the country's relatively small population.

　　"We are only 10 million people, but we continue to produce outstanding footballers," he said."What is important is consistency, focusing on the things you can control and continuing to compete at the highest level."