Ronaldo leads Portugal’s Euro 2024 squad for the 11th time in a major tournament | sports

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5/21/2024–|Last updated: 5/21/202404:40 PM (Mecca time)

Veteran star Cristiano Ronaldo leads the Portugal national team list that will compete in the European Football Cup finals (Euro 2024) next month, with the 39-year-old playing in his 11th major tournament with his country, after Spanish coach Roberto Martinez called up 26 players on Tuesday.

20 years after his first major championship in the European Cup in 2004 on home soil and 8 years after winning the continental title in 2016, the five-time best player in the world, who is currently a professional with Al-Nassr Saudi Arabia, is preparing to play his sixth continental championship, in a record for the world record holder in the number of international matches ( 2016) and international goals (128).

There were no surprises on Martinez’s list – who coached the Belgium national team between 2016 and 2022 – as winger Rafael Guerrero was absent due to injury, and the coach included young winger Francisco Conceicao (21 years old), who plays in Porto under the supervision of his father, the former international star Sergio.

After moving to Al-Nassr after the 2022 World Cup, where he was eliminated in the quarter-finals against Morocco (0-1), Ronaldo remained an essential element in Martinez’s squad, who succeeded Fernando Santos and led “Seleção das Quinas” with great ease in the qualifiers, where he won all ten matches, scoring 36 goals to two. In his own net, as part of a regular group in which he advanced over his runner-up, Slovakia.

Ronaldo (the former Spanish Real Madrid star) was the top scorer for his country in the qualifiers, with 10 goals in 9 matches.

Martinez considered that Ronaldo, “who scored 42 goals in 41 matches with his team” – which finished runner-up to Al Hilal in the local league – still provides “a quality in front of goal that we greatly appreciate and need.”

Before facing the Czech Republic, Turkey and Georgia in the sixth group of the continental finals in Germany, scheduled for June 14 and July 14, Portugal will play preparatory matches against Finland, Croatia and Ireland.

In addition to Ronaldo, Martinez chose two other players from the Saudi League: midfielders Ruben Neves (Al-Hilal) and Otavio Montero (Al-Nasr).

He also summoned the stars: Vitinha, Bruno Fernandes, Rafael Leao, Joao Felix and Bernardo Silva.

It was noteworthy that the 41-year-old center back, Pepe, was constantly called up, given his “important role in the locker room,” according to what Martinez explained.

The goal will be guarded by Diogo Cocheta, assisted by substitutes Rui Patricio and Jose Sa.

The following is the list of the Portugal national team in Euro 2024:

Goalkeepers: Diogo Cocheta (Porto), Jose Sa (Wolverhampton, England), Rui Patricio (Roma, Italy).

Defense: Antonio Silva (Benfica), Danilo Pereira, Nuno Mendes (Saint-Germain, France), Diogo Dalo (Manchester United, England), Goncalo Inacio (Sporting), Joao Cancelo (Barcelona, ​​Spain), Nelson Semedo (Wolverhampton, England), Pepe (Porto). ), Ruben Diaz (Manchester City, England).

Midfield: Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Joao Neves (Benfica), Joao Baleña (Fulham, England), Otavio Monteiro (Al-Nasr), Ruben Neves (Al-Hilal), Vitinha (Saint-Germain).

Attack: Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Cristiano Ronaldo (Al-Nassr), Diogo Jota (Liverpool, England), Francisco Conceição (Porto), Gonçalo Ramos (Saint-Germain), Joao Felix (Barcelona), Pedro Neto (Wolverhampton), Rafael Leao ( Milan, Italy).

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