CRISTIANO RONALDO IN PORTUGAL SQUAD AFTER GOALLESS EURO 2024

Cristiano Ronaldo's international future was uncertain after a disappointing Euro 2024. Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images

Portugal coach Roberto Martínez has included Cristiano Ronaldo in his squad for the first two Nations League matches following the veteran forward's disappointing European Championship.

Martínez announced the squad on Friday for its home games against Croatia on Sept. 5 and Scotland on Sept. 8.

The 39-year-old Ronaldo holds the record of 130 goals for international men's football, but he went scoreless in all five of Portugal's games at Euro 2024 as they were eliminated in the quarterfinals by France via a penalty shootout.

Martínez said after Euro 2024 that his team is starting "a new cycle" for the 2026 World Cup, which is being hosted in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Ronaldo will be 41 by the time that tournament in North America kicks off, and Martínez said after their exit from Euro 2024 that it was "too soon" to say whether Ronaldo had played his final game for his country.

Martínez restored Ronaldo to the starting lineup for the tournament in Germany after predecessor Fernando Santos had stunned his team and nation by benching him midway through the 2022 World Cup, where he scored in an opening win over Ghana but then failed to mark in the next four games, including a quarterfinal upset to Morocco.

Portugal squad:

Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (FC Porto), José Sá (Wolverhampton), Rui Silva (Real Betis).

Defenders: Rúben Dias (Manchester City), António Silva (Benfica), Renato Veiga (Chelsea), Gonçalo Inacio (Sporting), Tiago Santos (Lille), Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain), Nélson Semedo (Wolves).

Midfielders: João Palhinha (Bayern Munich), João Neves (Paris Saint-Germain), Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Rúben Neves (Al-Hilal), João Félix (Chelsea), Francisco Trincão (Sporting), Pedro Gonçalves (Sporting).

Forwards: Rafael Leão (AC Milan), Geovany Quenda (Sporting), Pedro Neto (Chelsea), Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr), Diogo Jota (Liverpool).

WHY PORTUGAL'S RELIANCE ON CRISTIANO RONALDO COST THEM

After Portugal were knocked out of Euro 2024 by France, the major question mark is whether Portugal were over-reliant on Cristiano Ronaldo. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

 HAMBURG, Germany -- Cristiano Ronaldo stood amongst his teammates, hands on hips, lips pursed, eyes looking out into the Portuguese crowd behind the goal.

Rúben Dias and Nuno Mendes, the warriors who had blunted France star Kylian Mbappé, co-led the applause. Ronaldo joined in and then turned to embrace Pepe, his sidekick in so many battles, the older brother facing his curtain call at 41 years of age. Pepe sobbed, Ronaldo whispered in his ear.

At that moment, Ronaldo looked just like any other of his Portugal teammates, united in disappointment. He did not look like Cristiano Ronaldo, GOAT candidate. And maybe, if Portugal boss Roberto Martinez had picked up on this sooner, we'd be telling a different tale.

It seemed as if Martinez -- by playing Ronaldo in every minute of every game of this tournament (bar the final 25 minutes against Georgia) -- was more concerned with giving him opportunity after opportunity to write another glorious chapter in his stellar career than he was with actually giving Portugal the best possible chance of winning.

The numbers are cold and merciless. Ronaldo took 23 shots in this tournament, the second most by any player failing to score in the Euros since the group stage format was introduced in 1980. His expected goals of 3.51 without finding the net are the most ever at a major men's tournament since 1980.

Maybe Martinez looked at this, remembered that Ronaldo had scored in every major tournament he had played in (five World Cups and five Euros) and told himself: "Hey, he's clearly due." If that's what happened, he's like the guy who bets on the Washington Generals to beat the Harlem Globetrotters because "they're due."

Yes, Ronaldo was coming off a prolific season in the Saudi Pro League and yes, regression to a mean is a thing and it's entirely possible that, over time, he would have caught up with his xG. But that's the key: time. It's a knockout tournament, stumble and there is no tomorrow. And even the GOATs have dry spells.

And it's not just the numbers, it's what Martinez's eyes and brain were telling him (or should have been telling him).

Yes, he had built a framework around Ronaldo that maximized his strengths and masked his weaknesses as best he could. Rafael Leão, out on the left wing, stayed high when Portugal defended, so there would always be a speedster for the "out ball" if needed. Bruno Fernandes was given licence to shadow into the box, almost like a second striker. Bernardo Silva and João Cancelo would offer crosses from the right. Even the corner kicks, with Pepe and Ronaldo tying up the opposing centre-backs, seemed designed for him.

It worked in qualifying; heck, it worked against France for much of the game (though this might have had a lot to do with Didier Deschamps' conservatism) as Portugal generated the better chances. But at some point, surely it must have dawned on Martinez just how much of a strain Ronaldo's lack of mobility out of possession was putting on his midfield and how many opportunities he was failing to convert.

It might have dawned on Ronaldo, too. Early in the first period of extra time, Francisco Conceição tore past an opponent and cut it back for him at the near post. A young Ronaldo would have calmly met the ball and guided it into the top corner. Old Ronaldo sent it sailing over the bar.

Moments later, out of the blue, he went on a one-man pressing rampage, summoning energy out of the ether and sprinting at Dayot Upamecano, who brushed him aside and booted the ball away. In the old days, Ronaldo would have gotten to the ball before Upamecano, spun around him and buried it past Mike Maignan. And in the unlikely event they got there at the same time, it would have been Upamecano bouncing off him, not the other way around.

But to quote Slim Charles from "The Wire": "The thing about the old days is... they the old days."

- Gab Marcotti, Senior Writer, ESPN FC

EURO 2024: CRISTIANO RONALDO SAYS PORTUGAL SAYS PORTUGAL 'DESERVE' TO WIN

Cristiano Ronaldo will captain Portugal in the 2024 European Championship. Photo by Gualter Fatia/Getty Images

 Cristiano Ronaldo said that Portugal's current generation of players deserves to win the 2024 European Championship.

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes, Paris Saint-Germain's Vitinha, and Manchester City pair Bernardo Silva and Rúben Dias are among the high-profile players in the Portuguese team aiming to win this year in Germany.

The five time Ballon d'Or winner said: "I believe that this generation deserves to win a competition of this magnitude. Semifinals? I hope we can go further.

"We have to go step by step, live in the moment, be calm, work as well as we have until now, believe that it is possible. We know it's a short competition, but the team is ready."

Ronaldo will compete in a record sixth European Championship in Germany, alongside two other members of the current squad -- Pepê and Rui Patrício -- who were a part of Portugal's Euro 2016 winning squad.

"I enjoy football, records are a consequence, not a goal, they appear naturally," he said.

"It's my sixth European Championship, it's about enjoying it in the best possible way, playing well and making sure the team can win."

This will be his first tournament under coach Roberto Martinez, the former Belgium manager.

Portugal play Czech Republic in their Group F opener on 18 June before fixtures against Turkey and Georgia.

In Portugal's 3-0 warm-up win against the Republic of Ireland, the 39-year-old scored twice, increasing his men's international goals record to 130.

"It's getting off to a good start which is essential," Ronaldo said.

"I feel ready, I've prepared myself for this competition."

Despite playing in five European Championships, Ronaldo still feels the thrill of the competition.

"Anxiety is always there, that tingling in your stomach, especially the day before the game," he said.

"I'm glad I feel it, when I don't feel it, it's better to give up and stop. I feel motivated and prepared. I see the team quite calm."

- Adriana Garcia

LIVERPOOL 'PAST A TEST ' AGAINST MAN CITY - JURGEN KLOPP

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Jurgen Klopp said Liverpool "passed a test" in their 1-1 draw with Manchester City on Saturday.

Trent Alexander-Arnold scored a second-half equaliser to cancel out Erling Haaland's 50th Premier League goal as Liverpool ended City's 23-game winning run at the Etihad Stadium.

Klopp admitted he was more happy with a point than Pep Guardiola and said his team had proved their character in an early title test.

"For us, I think it passed a test, I am not sure if it was the test," Klopp said. "In a business where nobody has time, it is really difficult to ask for it and use it.

"Last year we had a team that played long together and we got completely under the wheels here [in a 4-1 defeat] and had no chance.

"Today we had a chance. I am not silly, if you ask who was more likely to win the game it was City, obviously. We want to be ready to give them a proper game and that is what we did."