Earthquake Felt Near Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal Before FIFA World Cup

Cristiano Ronaldo and Team Portugal are currently training for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, ready to avenge their quarterfinal loss to Morocco in the 2022 World Cup. Despite the early exit for Portugal, the 6-foot-2 Ronaldo did make history when he became the first male player to score in five different World Cups.

The Portugal team is shacked up in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and will serve as the base camp for the players throughout the tournament's group-stage portion. Earth-shattering goals were expected from Team Portugal, but one can assume they did not account for the Earth literally shaking.

On Monday morning, at 2:23 p.m. ET, meteorologist Matt Devitt reported on the social media platform X that there was a 6.1-magnitude earthquake in the Gulf of Mexico. The epicenter of the quake was about 65 miles northwest of Mantua, Cuba, with shaking felt across Florida. Devitt later responded to that message by reporting that this was the second-largest earthquake ever recorded in the Gulf of Mexico.

Ronaldo and Portugal have their base camp set up at North County District Park in Florida, where tremors were reported. While some residents were forced to evacuate, Team Portugal was not reported to have needed relocation. The impacts from the earthquake, which sent tremors throughout Florida, are not expected to pose a tsunami threat.

"This is the 2nd largest earthquake ever recorded in the Gulf," Devitt wrote on X. "According to the USGS."

This is the 2nd largest earthquake ever recorded in the Gulf, according to the USGS. https://t.co/JrP5k2filH

— Matt Devitt (@MattDevittWX) June 8, 2026

Team Portugal will start its first Group K match of the 2026 World Cup on Wednesday, June 17, against the DR Congo at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. Kickoff is expected to start at 1:00 p.m. ET.

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This story was originally published June 8, 2026 at 6:12 PM.