Cristiano Ronaldo was named in Portugal's initial 27-man squad for the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday, keeping alive the chance that the 41-year-old forward will become the first male footballer to appear at six World Cups. Portugal listed the captain alongside Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha, Joao Neves and Nuno Mendes as Roberto Martinez began trimming his group for the tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Four goalkeepers were included in the squad, with one set to be cut before the final deadline. Goncalo Guedes also made the list after returning to the national setup in March following a four-year absence, while Samuel Costa was rewarded after being capped four times by Mallorca. Martinez left out Joao Palhinha, despite his 37 caps for Portugal, and also omitted Mateus Fernandes, Antonio Silva, Paulinho, Pedro Goncalves, Ricardo Horta and Rodrigo Mora.
The selection gives Portugal a familiar core as they prepare for a group stage that will also bring Colombia, Uzbekistan and DR Congo in Group K. Ronaldo's place had been under scrutiny after he was dropped from the starting line-up for the knockout stage at the last World Cup under former manager Fernando Santos and was considered by some to have performed poorly at Euro 2024 in Germany. Martinez has kept faith in him, though, after Ronaldo helped Portugal win the Nations League last year by beating Spain in the final.
Portugal are among the favourites heading into the tournament, but they have never won the World Cup and their best finishes remain the semi-finals in 1966 and 2006. They will play home friendlies against Chile on June 6 and Nigeria on June 10 before the final squad is locked in. For Ronaldo, the next month now carries a simple shape: stay fit, stay selected and he can step onto a sixth World Cup stage that no male player has reached before.
