Ronaldo's sixth World Cup begins Wednesday against DR Congo

Tomorrow: Portugal vs DR Congo, and Ronaldo makes history

Your World Cup starts Wednesday against DR Congo in the group stage opener (1). Cristiano Ronaldo walks out for his sixth World Cup, no other player has done that for Portugal (1). The match kicks off tomorrow, June 17.

Uzbekistan call you one of the favorites

Aziz Ganiev, who faces Portugal later in the group stage, did not hold back. "It is one of the strongest generations and they are one of the favorites" (3). Respect coming from inside the group before a ball is kicked.

Africa openers: good results, tougher matches

Portugal have never lost a World Cup opener against an African side. Angola (2006), Ivory Coast (2010), Ghana (2014), all without defeat. But each one was close, and the scorelines hid real difficulties (4). DR Congo bring that same threat.

Ronaldo: named after Reagan, expelled as a kid, heart surgery at 15

Ahead of his record sixth World Cup, some of the captain's backstory is resurfacing. His father named him after Ronald Reagan. He was expelled from school for throwing a chair at a teacher. And at 15, he had heart surgery that allowed him to keep playing (1). None of it stopped him.