A new FIFA date of international friendly matches is coming and, of course, the World Cup playoffs that deliver the last six places to the event in Canada, the United States and Mexico. But we will also have the reopening of the Azteca Stadium, which will miss whoever appeared as a luxury guest.
This is Cristiano Ronaldo, who is the big absentee in Portugal’s latest call for a double date of preparation against two of the hosts of the next World Cup: Mexico (March 28) and the United States (March 31).
Cristiano was one of the main attractions for the first test of the Santa Úrsula colossus before the start of the 2026 World Cup, and even his possible presence helped to catapult ticket prices for a match with great football expectations and, at the same time, logistics.
But the Mexican public will be left wanting to see CR7, after the Portuguese idol and top scorer in the history of modern football had to be absent due to injury.
Roberto Martínez’s list left Cristiano, Rúben Dias and Nélson Semedo, regulars of the national team, isolated, but who are not fit to play.
However, the coach ruled out that Cristiano Ronaldo suffered a serious injury that jeopardizes his future with the team, especially for the 2026 World Cup.
“No, no, no, he (Cristiano Ronaldo) is not at risk. It is a minor injury, a muscle injury, and an injury from which we believe he could recover in one or two weeks. It is not a very long period. I think that everything Cristiano has done physically during this season shows that he is in excellent condition and that there is no physical problem,” Martínez assured when handing over the list.
Furthermore, the Spanish coach in charge of the Portuguese team assured that it is a good stage for “physical management and opportunity”, thinking about the options to finish building the team for the World Cup.
Within the list of 27 players, the call-up of midfielder Mateus Fernandes, from West Ham, and the absence of Bruno Fernandes, from Manchester City, due to a technical decision, also appears as a big novelty.
Archers: Diogo Costa (FC Porto), José Sá (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Rui Silva (Sporting CP)
Defenses: Matheus Nunes (Manchester City), Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), João Cancelo (FC Barcelona), Nuno Mendes (PSG), Gonçalo Inácio (Sporting CP), Renato Veiga (Villarreal), António Silva (SL Benfica), Tomás Araújo (SL Benfica).
Midfielders: Rúben Neves (Al Hilal), Samú Costa (Mallorca), Mateus Fernandes (West Ham), João Neves (PSG), Vitinha (PSG), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) and Rodrigo Mora (FC Porto);
Fronts: Ricardo Horta (SC Braga), Pedro Gonçalves (Sporting CP), João Félix (Al Nassr), Francisco Trincão (Sporting CP), Francisco Conceição (Juventus), Rafael Leão (AC Milan), Pedro Neto (Chelsea), Gonçalo Guedes (Real Sociedad) and Gonçalo Ramos (PSG).
Before the start of the 2026 World Cup, the Azteca Stadium would have had the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in less than a month, but the Argentine star will not visit the building at the moment, after the elimination of Inter Miami from the Concacaf Champions Cup and what would have been a potential confrontation against the Águilas del América.
Portugal shares Group K of the World Cup with Uzbekistan, Colombia and a team to qualify between the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Jamaica and New Caledonia.
The debut will be on June 17 in Houston, precisely against the qualified team from the playoffs.
The-CNN-Wire
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