cristiano ronaldo was included in the first Portugal squad announced by the new coach on Friday Roberto Martinez, for the Euro 2024 qualifying matches against Liechtenstein and Luxembourg.
The Spaniard emphasized during the press conference announcing his 26-man squad that the 38-year-old was “very important for the team”.
“I don’t look at age,” says Martinez.
Portugal will face Liechtenstein on March 23 in Lisbon before heading to Luxembourg on March 26.
Martinez said his first-team squad is “very important because it’s the starting point” for Euro 2024.
ronaldowho began his international career in August 2003 in a friendly match against Kazakhstan, holding the world record for men’s international goals with 118.
History shows that, if he returns to the starting line-up, he will improve his performance in the next two matches, at least against Luxembourg.
Portugal have played Liechtenstein seven times, winning six and drawing one, a 2004 World Cup qualifier where Ronaldo started but didn’t finish. They overcame Liechtenstein with a score of 35-3 but Ronaldo never scored against the Principality.
Portugal have faced Luxembourg 19 times, won 17 and lost only one, overtaking them with a score of 59-8. Ronaldo has scored nine of them, his highest tally against any international team.
Ronaldo has represented Portugal in every international tournament since Euro 2004, winning the European Championship medal in 2016.
His quest to add a World Cup medal in Qatar last year started well as he became the first player to score in five tournaments as he successfully netted a penalty in the win over Ghana. .
But he was dropped from the starting line-up in the round of 16 match as Portugal tore Switzerland apart.
When Portugal lost to Morocco in the quarterfinals, he started off the bench and ended the tournament in tears.
Full lineup:
Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (Porto), Jose Sa (Wolves/ENG), Rui Patricio (Rome/ITA)
Defender: Diogo Dalot (Manchester United/ENG), Joao Cancelo (Manchester City/England), danilo Pereira (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA), Penelope (Porto), Ruben Dias (Manchester City/ENG), Antonio Silva (Benfica), Goncalo Inacio (Sporting Lisbon), Diogo Leite (Union Berlin/GER), Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA), Raphael Guerreiro (Borussia Dortmund/GER)
Midfielders: Joao Palhinha (Fulham/ENG), Ruben Neves (Wolves/ENG), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City/England), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United/England), Joao mario (Benfica), Matheus Nunes (Wolves/ENG), Otavio Monteiro (Porto), vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA)
Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr/KSA), Goncalo Ramos (Benfica), Joao Felix (Chelsea/ENG), Raphael Leao (AC Milan/ITA), Diogo Jota (Liverpool/UK)
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and was automatically generated from the aggregate feed.)
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