Ronaldo in Portugal squad as new boss Martinez takes charge

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo at a practice session in Lisbon yesterday. Pic/Getty Images

It's a new era for Portugal as they begin European Championship qualifying under a new coach and with Cristiano Ronaldo far away from football's biggest stadiums. Portugal start their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign at home against Liechtenstein in Group J on Thursday, with Roberto Martínez debuting as coach and Ronaldo still in the squad.

Roberto Martinez

It will be Ronaldo's first appearance with Portugal since leaving Europe for Saudi club Al Nassr after a mostly disappointing stint with Manchester United. He is set to break the all-time record of appearances with a national team after tying Bader Al-Mutawa's mark of 196 outings for Kuwait during last year's World Cup.

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Martínez is taking over Fernando Santos, who quit in December after Portugal's elimination by Morocco in the quarterfinals of the World Cup. Santos left amid the controversy of benching Ronaldo in the knockout stage of the tournament in Qatar.

Martínez ended his six-year stint with Belgium after the team's disappointing group-stage elimination at the World Cup. He arrived pledging to respect Ronaldo's history with the national team.