New Portugal coach Roberto Martínez included Cristiano Ronaldo in his first squad on Friday since taking up from Fernando Santos following the World Cup.
The 38-year-old Ronaldo was overlooked of Santos’ beginning lineup for Portugal’s knockout-phase video games on the event in Qatar, together with the quarterfinal loss to Morocco.
Ronaldo, who performs for Saudi crew Al-Nassr, can add to his worldwide file 118 objectives when Portugal performs European Championship qualifiers in opposition to Liechtenstein on March 23 and at Luxembourg three days later.
“Cristiano Ronaldo is a participant who is totally dedicated to the nationwide crew,” Martínez mentioned. “I don’t take a look at age or different features. He has the possibility to assist the crew and cross on his expertise to different gamers.”
Martínez made only a few adjustments to the squad he inherited from Santos. Pepe, aged 40, was again once more in protection, whereas Ronaldo was joined by João Félix, Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva as playmakers.
Martínez joined Portugal after the Spaniard ended his six-year stint with Belgium following the crew’s disappointing group-stage elimination on the World Cup.
Portugal’s Euro 2024 qualifying group additionally contains Iceland, Slovakia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Portugal squad:
Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (Porto), José Sá (Wolverhampton), Rui Patrício (Roma).
Defenders: Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), João Cancelo (Bayern Munich), Danilo Pereira (Paris Saint-Germain), Pepe (Porto), Rúben Dias (Manchester Metropolis), António Silva (Benfica), Gonçalo Inácio (Sporting), Diogo Leite (Union Berlin), Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain), Raphael Guerreiro (Borussia Dortmund).
Midfielders: João Palhinha (Fulham), Rúben Neves (Wolverhampton), Bernardo Silva (Manchester Metropolis), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), João Mário (Benfica), Matheus Nunes (Wolverhampton), Otávio Monteiro (Porto), Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain).
Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nassr), Gonçalo Ramos (Benfica), João Félix (Chelsea), Rafael Leão (AC Milan), Diogo Jota (Liverpool).