Why does Portugal still summon Ronaldo?

"Ronaldo is very dedicated to the team. He brings experience and is an important factor in the team," Martinez said on March 17 at a press conference announcing the list of 26 Portuguese players. "I don't look at age or other aspects. I think Ronaldo can help the team by passing on experience to his teammates. This is a very important step, we want to create a competitive, winning team." .

At the 2022 World Cup, Ronaldo started three group stage matches, but was a substitute for two knock-out rounds, where Portugal lost to Morocco in the quarterfinals. After the match, the 38-year-old striker burst into tears and did not mention the possibility of continuing to accompany the Portuguese team.

Martinez attended the friendly match between Saudi All Star XI, Ronaldo's club, and PSG on the evening of January 19. After the game, he and Ronaldo are said to have talked about the striker's future with Portugal. Since joining Al Nassr after the 2022 World Cup, Ronaldo has scored 8 goals in 9 matches in all competitions.

At the team level, Ronaldo holds the record for scoring 118 goals, and shares the record for the number of matches (196) as Bader Al-Mutawa for Kuwait. Both are the same age and Mutawa can also continue to play for Kuwait against the Philippines and Tajikistan in the upcoming international friendly series. At the same time, Portugal started qualifying for Euro 2024 with a match against Liechtenstein on March 23 and then as a guest of Luxembourg on March 26. Portugal's remaining opponents in Group J are Bosnia, Slovakia and Iceland.

Martinez sees Ronaldo and 40-year-old defender Pepe as useful factors for young players. He added: "Young players in the team can learn from more experienced seniors. I don't think age is an important factor right now."

The list of Portugal squad has many players attending the 2022 World Cup, including stars Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Joao Felix or Rafael Leao. Goncalo Ramos - the striker who resonated with his hat-trick in the 6-1 victory over Switzerland in the 1/8 round of the 2022 World Cup - also participated. Diogo Jota returns to the national team after missing the tournament in Qatar due to injury.

Before leading Portugal, Martinez worked as Belgium coach from 2016 to 2022. His best achievement with Belgium is a bronze medal at the 2016 World Cup and the number one position on the FIFA rankings from October 25, 2018. until February 1, 2022. The 49-year-old coach resigned when Belgium was eliminated from the group stage of the 2022 World Cup.

Martinez is excited about the new chapter in his coaching career. "I want to build a team that shows the qualities of the players that Portugal has," he said. "That was the starting point. I saw the quality, the experience, the youth, the players playing at home and abroad. I saw a lot of commitment from all of them to the team."

According to O Jogo, over the past two months, Martinez has watched 200 qualified players for Portugal, including 82 players playing in Europe's top five leagues. He also does not ignore players who play in Portugal, other leagues or hybrid players.

Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa, José Sá, Rui Patrício;

Defenders: António Silva, Danilo, Diogo Leite, Gonçalo Inácio, João Cancelo, Diogo Dalot, Pepe, Nuno Mendes, Raphael Guerreiro and Rúben Dias;

Midfielders: Bruno Fernandes, Palhinha, João Mário, Matheus Nunes, Otávio, Rúben Neves, Vitinha, Bernardo Silva;

Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo, Diogo Jota, Gonçalo Ramos, João Félix and Rafael Leão