LISBON.- No surprises, Cristiano Ronaldo was called by the selection of Portugal to compete, at 41 years old, for his sixth World this summer in North Americaaccording to the list of 26 players revealed this Tuesday by the coach Roberto Martínez.
Injured with his Saudi club Al-Nassr At the end of February, Ronaldo had to give up the friendly matches played by the Seleção in March against Mexico (0-0) and USA (2-0 victory).
The five times Ballon d’Or He returned and is therefore preparing to participate in his sixth World Cup, which would be a record that, however, will be equaled, barring some surprise, by his great Argentine rival. Lionel Messi.
The player born on the island of Madeira, who has also already played six Euro Cups -champion in 2016-, had confirmed in November 2025 that the 2026 World Cup would be the last of his historic career.
“Icon and our captain”
“When we talk about Cristiano Ronaldo, there is the icon of world football and then there is the player, our captain, who is subject to the same demands as the other players,” Martínez said this Tuesday in a press conference.
“He has the competitiveness to be in the World Cup and is, in my opinion, an exemplary captain,” insisted the 52-year-old Spanish coach.
Ronaldo leads a very high-level Portuguese team with a significant number of players in the best European teams: Vitinha, Joao Neves, Nuno Mendes and Goncalo Ramos (PSG), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Bernard Silva and Ruben Dias (Manchester City) or Rafael Leao (Milan).
Martínez included a fourth goalkeeper on his list, Ricardo Velhodespite the fact that he will not be able to appear on the official list to compete in the World Cup.
“For us, the work must be high intensity in each training session. There is a lot of definition involved and we need another goalkeeper. We know that Ricardo Velho cannot be on the bench, but in two minutes he said that he was ready to help with whatever was necessary,” Martínez justified.
In the tournament that will take place from June 11 to July 19 in USA, Mexico and CanadaPortugal has been placed in group K along with Colombia, Uzbekistan and the Congo DR.
Team “candidate, not favorite”
Before settling into their headquarters in Palm Beach, Florida, the Seleção will play two preparation matches at home, against Chili on June 6 near Lisbon and then against Nigeria on June 10 in Leiria (center).
Remembering that Portugal won the last edition of the League of Nationsin 2025 by eliminating Germany and beat Spain In the final in the penalty shootout, Martínez stated that his team will appear in the World Cup with the status of “candidate, but not favorite.”
“I think that only a team that has already won the World Cup can be a favorite,” he said.
Portugal squad list:
Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (Porto), José Sa (Wolverhampton/ENG), Rui Silva (Sporting Portugal) + Ricardo Velho (Genclerbirligi Ankara/TUR).
Defenders: Diogo Dalot (Manchester United/ENG), Matheus Nunes (Manchester City/ENG), Nelson Semedo (Fenerbahçe/TUR), Joao Cancelo (FC Barcelona/ESP), Nuno Mendes (PSG/FRA), Gonçalo Inacio (Sporting Portugal), Renato Veiga (Villarreal/ESP), Ruben Dias (Manchester City/ENG), Tomas Araujo (Benfica).
Midfielders: Ruben Neves (Al-Hilal/KSA), Samu Costa (Mallorca/ESP), Joao Neves (PSG/FRA), Vitinha (PSG/FRA), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United/ENG), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City/ENG).
Forwards: Joao Felix (Al Nassr/KSA), Francisco Trincao (Sporting Portugal), Francisco Conceiçao (Juventus/ITA), Pedro Neto (Chelsea/ENG), Rafael Leao (AC Milan/ITA), Gonçalo Guedes (Real Sociedad/ESP), Gonçalo Ramos (PSG/FRA), Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr/KSA).
