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).

MARTÍNEZ: CRISTIANO RONALDO YET TO DECIDE PORTUGAL FUTURE

 Portugal coach Roberto Martínez said it was "too soon" to say if Cristiano Ronaldo had played his last game for his country following the team's Euro 2024 exit at the hands of France in Hamburg on Friday.

Portugal lost 5-3 to France on penalties in their quarterfinal after a goalless stalemate in which Ronaldo missed a glaring chance in extra time but converted one of the kicks in the shootout.

"It's too soon and raw after the match to talk about that and there have been no individual decisions made," Martínez said at a news conference when asked if it had been Ronaldo's last game in a Portugal jersey.

Friday's loss to France at the Volksparkstadion was Ronaldo's 212th cap. His 130 goals for his country is by far the most in international football, with Lionel Messi recently moving into second on the list with 108.

However, the 39-year-old Ronaldo struggled to revive former glories at the tournament in Germany and departed Euro 2024 without scoring apart from in shootouts.

It was the first time in his career that Ronaldo had failed to score in a major international tournament, and his 10 shots without a goal are tied for the most without finding the net in a single Euros, matching Belgium's Kevin De Bruyne in 2016.

Ronaldo's 20-year career in the Euros included the title in 2016 -- when Portugal beat France in the final -- and it remains to be seen if the five-time world player of the year will continue playing for his country through to the 2026 World Cup, when he will be 41.

He said following Portugal's round-of-16 win over Slovenia that his record-breaking sixth European Championship would be his last.

"Without a doubt it's the last Euro [for me], of course it is," Ronaldo told Portugal TV's RTP.

"But I'm not emotional about that. I'm moved by everything that football entails, by the enthusiasm I have for the game, the enthusiasm I see in the fans, having my family here, people's passion ... it's not about leaving the world of football. What else is there for me to do or win?"

After the final whistle on Friday, centre-back Pepê collapsed sobbing into Ronaldo's arms.

"I won't say it publicly," Pepe told TV station Canal 11, when asked what Ronaldo said to him. "But we feel it a lot. Contrary to what many people think, we feel it a lot.

"We feel the frustration of not winning a game, of being eliminated in such a big competition as the European Championship, knowing that we had a lot of quality to go through. That's the pain we feel."

About his own future, the 41-year-old added: "I will have the opportunity to speak in the future. I don't want to speak about it [now] because tomorrow people might be speaking about my future instead of talking about this process."

Ronaldo has gone nine games without a goal for Portugal and missed a golden opportunity to score during extra time when Francisco Conceição broke behind the French defence and cut back a pass to Ronaldo just outside the 6-yard box.

However, Ronaldo launched the ball wildly over the crossbar -- far from a fairytale ending, if it is indeed the end, of a record-breaking international career.

Information from Reuters and The Associated Press was used in this report.

- ESPN News Services