April 25 (Reuters) - Portugal ⁠midfielder Bruno Fernandes expressed hope that he and ⁠his teammates can help crown Cristiano Ronaldo's international ‌career by winning the 2026 World Cup.

The 41-year-old Ronaldo is set to appear in a record sixth World Cup in June, a tournament ​expected to be the final major ⁠chapter of the forward's ⁠career.

"Wrapping up all this last World Cup with Cristiano (Ronaldo) ⁠winning ‌it would be something amazing," Fernandes told Wayne Rooney in a BBC report published on ⁠Friday.

"I really hope we can make it happen, ​not just ‌for Portugal, but for everything Cristiano gave to football ⁠and the ​world," the Portuguese midfielder and Manchester United captain said.

Ronaldo, considered one of the greatest players ever to have not ⁠won a World Cup, is the ​record scorer in international football with 143 goals.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner was part of Portugal's Euro 2016-winning team and ⁠has lifted the Nations League twice.

Portugal's opening Group K game is on June 17 against the Democratic Republic of Congo, followed by Uzbekistan on June 23, with ​both games in Houston. They play ⁠Colombia on June 27 in Miami in their final ​group game.

The World Cup runs from ‌June 11 to July 19 ​in Canada, the United States and Mexico.

(Reporting by Rishabh Jaiswal in Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard)