Cristiano Ronaldo to lead Portugal into record 6th European Championship

FILE PHOTO:  Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo. –REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol/File Photo

LISBON, Portugal — Cristiano Ronaldo is set to make a record sixth appearance at the European Championship with Portugal’s squad.

Ronaldo was among the 26 players picked for the tournament in Germany by coach Roberto Martínez on Tuesday.

The 39-year-old Ronaldo first played in the competition in 2004, and led the national team to the title in 2016.

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There had been some doubts about whether Ronaldo would continue playing with the national team after the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, but he has remained a key player in Martínez’s squad.

Also in the list was veteran Pepe, the 41-year-old Porto defender who will play in his fifth Euro.

Among those not included were forward Francisco Trincão, midfielder Pedro Gonçalves and striker Ricardo Horta. Raphael Guerreiro was dropped after injuring his ankle with Bayern Munich a few weeks ago.

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Two of the surprises included forwards Pedro Neto of Wolverhampton and Francisco Conceição of Porto.

Portugal is in Group F with the Czech Republic, Turkey and Georgia. It will play three warm-up games in June against Finland, Croatia and Ireland.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (Porto), José Sá (Wolverhampton), Rui Patrício (Roma)

Defenders: João Cancelo (Barcelona), Nélson Semedo (Wolverhampton), Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), Danilo Pereira (Wolverhampton), Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain), Pepe (Porto), Rúben Dias (Manchester City), António Silva (Benfica), Gonçalo Inácio (Sporting Lisbon)

Midfielders: Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), João Neves (Benfica), Palhinha (Fulham), Otávio (Al Nassr), Rúben Neves (Al Hilal), Vitinha (PSG), Bernardo Silva (Man City)

Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr), Diogo Jota (Liverpool), Francisco Conceição (Porto), Gonçalo Ramos (PSG), Joao Félix (Barcelona), Pedro Neto (Wolverhampton), Rafael Leão (AC Milan)