Cristiano Ronaldowas included among the players cited by the coach of the Selection of Portugal, Robert Martinez, for the matches he will play against Liechtenstein and Luxembourg for the Euro 2024 qualification. The 38-year-old striker, who works in Al Nasserof Saudi Arabiawas considered by the brand new coach of the Portuguese team as “very important for the team” and that is why he made the decision to summon him to be part of the squad.
In addition, the former Belgium coach admitted that he did not look at the age of the players since this list of 26 footballers is “the starting point” in the campaign with a view to qualifying for next year’s Euro Cup. “Ronaldo is a very committed player. That is my position. He is a player who can give experience, he is a very important figure for the team,” he assured.
Ronaldo He holds the record of having scored 118 goals in 196 international matches and his future in the Portuguese team was one of the great unknowns of the Martínez era, who chose to continue trusting the “quinas” captain. The disagreements with the previous DT, Fernando Santos, in Qatar, where he was far from his usual form, questioned his continuity.
However, since his millionaire signing for the Al Nasser, Cristiano he has scored 8 goals in 9 games, in addition to two assists, and seems to have recovered his former condition. The return of Ronaldo Martinez’s debut at the helm of Portugal will be on the 23rd in Lisbon against Liechtenstein, and then they will face Luxembourg on the 26th as a visitor.
The list of the 26 players summoned is the following:
Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (Porto, Portugal), José Sá (Wolverhampton, England) and Rui Patricio (Rome, Italy)
Defenders: Diogo Dalot (Manchester United, England), Joao Cancelo (Manchester City, England), Danilo Pereira (Paris Saint Germain, France), Pepe (Oporto), Ruben Dias (Manchester City), Antonio Silva (Benfica, Portugal), Gonçalo Inacio (Sporting Portugal), Diogo Leite (Union Berlin, Germany), Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint Germain) and Raphael Guerreiro (Dortmund/GER).
Midfielders: Joao Palhinha (Fulham, England), Ruben Neves (Wolverhampton), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Joao Mario (Benfica, Portugal), Matheus Nunes (Wolverhampton), Otavio Monteiro (Oporto), Vitinha (Paris Saint Germain).
Strikers: Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr, Saudi Arabia), Gonzalo Ramos (Benfica), Joao Felix (Chelsea), Rafael Leao (Milan, Italy), Diogo Jota (Liverpool).