Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal’s Veteran striker will be leading his country into the 2026 World Cup this summer. The 41-year old was named in the squad on Tuesday by the coach Roberto Martinez.
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid star, now playing for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia is set to appear for his sixth FIFA World Cup.
Ronaldo is the all-time leading men’s international goal scorer with 143 goals. He and his team from Portugal have never won the competition.
During the World Cup there is also a strong responsibility for Ronaldo facing his rival Lionel Messi. Messi will also be playing his sixth FIFA World Cup and he led Argentina to glory four years ago in Qatar.
Martinez, the Spanish coach selected a 26-man squad with no major surprises. He also selected Ronaldo’s Al Nassr teammate Joao Felix. The coach also named goalkeeper Ricardo Velho as an extra player in the group.
Martinez while talking about Ronaldo explained that he will not have to manage the five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo in a special way because of his experience.
This will probably be the last FIFA World Cup for Ronaldo as he said last year that the 2026 World Cup would be his last.
Portugal 27-man squad list:
Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (Porto), Jose Sa (Wolves/ENG), Rui Silva (Sporting Lisbon), Ricardo Velho (Genclerbirligi/TUR)
Defenders: Diogo Dalot (Manchester United/ENG), Matheus Nunes, Ruben Dias (both Manchester City/ENG), Nelson Semedo (Fenerbahce/TUR), Joao Cancelo (Barcelona/ESP), Nuno Mendes (Pari Saint-Germain/FRA), Goncalo Inacio (Sporting Lisbon), Renato Veiga (Villarreal/ESP), Tomas Araujo (Benfica)
Midfielders: Ruben Neves (Al Hilal/KSA), Samu Costa (Mallorca/ESP), Joao Neves, Vitinha (both Paris Saint-Germain/FRA), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United/ENG), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City/ENG)
Attackers: Cristiano Ronaldo, Joao Felix (both Al Nassr/KSA), Francisco Trincao (Sporting Lisbon), Francisco Conceicao (Juventus/ITA), Pedro Neto (Chelsea/ENG), Rafael Leao (AC Milan/ITA), Goncalo Guedes (Real Sociedad/ESP), Goncalo Ramos (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA)
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