Ronaldo had refused to confirm whether he would continue playing for Portugal after their FIFA World Cup 2026 round-of-16 defeat to eventual champions Spain in July. The 41-year-old had also indicated that the tournament would be his final World Cup but had not announced his retirement from international football.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
His inclusion in Jesus\u2019 first Portugal squad now confirms that Ronaldo remains available for national team duty as the European side begin a new chapter under their new head coach.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Jesus was appointed to replace Roberto Martinez following Portugal\u2019s World Cup exit. The former Al-Nassr coach is also familiar with Ronaldo, having worked with the five-time Ballon d\u2019Or winner at club level in Saudi Arabia, where the duo won the league title last season.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Jesus, however, stressed that Ronaldo would not receive preferential treatment under his management.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cAll the called-up players are at my disposal; if he performs well, he plays. If he doesn\u2019t perform well, he doesn\u2019t play. That\u2019s how I treat everyone,\" Jesus told reporters.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Ronaldo remains the leading scorer in men\u2019s international football with 146 goals and is also chasing the landmark of 1,000 career goals. He currently has 979 goals across club and international football.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Jesus believes Ronaldo is likely to reach the milestone with Al-Nassr rather than Portugal.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI think he\u2019s more likely to score his thousandth goal for Al-Nassr than for the Portuguese national team,\u201d Jesus said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Portugal will begin their Nations League campaign at home against Wales on September 24 before travelling to face Norway three days later. They will then take Denmark away on October 1 before hosting Norway on October 4.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Portugal Squad:<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa, Rui Silva, and Samuel Soares.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Defenders: Goncalo Inacio, Renato Veiga, Ruben Dias, Tomas Araujo, Joao Cancelo, Diogo Dalot, Nuno Tavares, and Nuno Mendes.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa, Rui Silva, and Samuel Soares.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo, Fabio Silva, Trincao, Francisco Conceicao, Goncalo Ramos, Joao Felix, Pedro Neto, Rafael Leao.<\/p>\r\n\r\n