Lisbon, Portugal – Cristiano Ronaldo, nursing a minor hamstring injury, has been left out of Portugal’s squad for upcoming pre-World Cup friendlies against Mexico and the United States, coach Roberto Martinez confirmed on Friday.
The 41-year-old has not played for his Saudi club, Al-Nassr, since late February, but Martinez insisted that Ronaldo’s participation at what would be a record sixth World Cup is “not at risk.”
“It’s a minor injury,” Martinez said at a press conference, adding that Ronaldo could return to full fitness “within one or two weeks.”
Martinez emphasized that Portugal’s centre-forward roles at the World Cup will be shared between Ronaldo and Goncalo Ramos, with a third striker to provide a different profile.
Portugal faces Mexico on March 28 in Mexico City and the United States on March 31 in Atlanta. According to Martinez, these friendlies mark the final opportunity to experiment before the World Cup squad is finalized.
Portugal has been drawn in Group K alongside Colombia and Uzbekistan. The fourth team will emerge from a play-off featuring New Caledonia, Jamaica, or the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Portugal Squad Highlights:
- Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa, Jose Sa, Rui Silva
- Defenders: Joao Cancelo, Nuno Mendes, Diogo Dalot, Matheus Nunes, Goncalo Inacio, Renato Veiga, Antonio Silva, Tomas Araujo
- Midfielders: Bruno Fernandes, Ruben Neves, Vitinha, Samu Costa, Mateus Fernandes, Joao Neves, Rodrigo Mora
- Forwards: Joao Felix, Rafael Leao, Goncalo Ramos, Pedro Goncalves, Ricardo Horta, Francisco Trincao, Francisco Conceicao, Pedro Neto, Goncalo Guedes
Martinez reiterated that Ronaldo remains central to Portugal’s World Cup plans despite the brief injury setback.
