Ronaldo ruled out of Portugal's warm-up matches for the World Cup due to injury

n n

File: Portugal’s forward Cristiano Ronaldo reacts during the UEFA Nations League semi-final football match between Germany and Portugal in Munich, southern Germany on June 4, 2025. Photo by Alexandra BEIER / AFP.

n

Cristiano Ronaldo, who is currently nursing a hamstring injury, was on Friday left out of the Portugal squad to play pre-World Cup friendlies against tournament co-hosts Mexico and the United States later this month.

n

The 41-year-old has not played for his Saudi club Al-Nassr since the end of February but Portugal coach Roberto Martinez insisted that Ronaldo’s participation at what would be a record sixth World Cup was “not at risk”.

n

“It’s a minor injury,” Martinez said at a press conference, adding that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner could be back “within one or two weeks”.

n

“Everything Cristiano has done physically during this season shows that he’s going through an excellent spell and that there are no physical problems.

n

“At the World Cup, the centre-forward position will be for Cristiano Ronaldo and Goncalo Ramos. We are looking for a third striker with a different profile.”

n

Portugal will face Mexico on Saturday, March 28, in Mexico City, and the United States three days later in Atlanta.

n

“This is the last chance to experiment, because it’s the final training camp before the World Cup squad is named,” said Martinez.

n

At the World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada from June 11 to July 19, Portugal have been drawn in Group K with Colombia and Uzbekistan.

n

The other team in this group will come from a play-off that could see New Caledonia, Jamaica, or the Democratic Republic of Congo qualify.

n

Squad:

n

Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (FC Porto), Jose Sa (Wolverhampton Wanderers/ENG), Rui Silva (Sporting)

n

Defenders: Matheus Nunes (Manchester City/ENG), Diogo Dalot (Manchester United/ENG), Joao Cancelo (Barcelona/ESP), Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA), Goncalo Inacio (Sporting), Renato Veiga (Villarreal/ESP), Antonio Silva (Benfica), Tomas Araujo (Benfica)

n

Midfielders: Ruben Neves (Al-Hilal/KSA), Samu Costa (Mallorca/ESP), Mateus Fernandes (West Ham/ESP), Joao Neves (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA), Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United/ENG), Rodrigo Mora (Porto)

n

Forwards: Ricardo Horta (Braga), Pedro Goncalves (Sporting), Joao Felix (Al Nassr/KSA), Francisco Trincao (Sporting), Francisco Conceicao (Juventus/ITA), Rafael Leao (AC Milan/ITA), Pedro Neto (Chelsea/ENG), Goncalo Guedes (Real Sociedad/ESP), Goncalo Ramos (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA)

n n