As expected, the national coach will bet on a scheme with three centrals.
Cristiano Ronaldo is today back in Portugal’s starting XI, which faces Liechestein, at the start of the qualifying phase for the Euro204 football, with coach Roberto Martinez operating the debut of Gonçalo Inácio.
With the title in today’s game, Cristiano Ronaldo becomes the most capped player ever, with 197 games for Portugal. The 38-year-old striker surpasses Kuwait’s also forward Bader Al-Mutawa, who will not play in this stop for the national teams’ matches because he was not called up by coach Rui Bento.
In the first game of the Spanish coach as national coach, Ronaldo won the race to Gonçalo Ramos and will, in Alvalade, on the first day of Group J, pair up with João Félix.
The exclusion of Gonçalo Ramos, having had an excellent season at Benfica, is really the big surprise in Martínez’s first eleven ever.
The 49-year-old coach will present a defense made up of three centre-backs, with Danilo and Rúben Dias accompanied by Gonçalo Inácio, who will play his first ever game for the main ‘quinas’ teams.
Behind this trio, as expected due to Diogo Costa’s injury, will be Rui Patrício, the most capped ‘AA’ Portuguese goalkeeper (106th game), who will return to defend the national networks, something he no longer does in games oficial since June 2022, in a duel against Switzerland (1-0), for the League of Nations.
João Cancelo and Raphaël Guerreiro will be on the wings, winning the duel for the ‘eleven’ against Diogo Dalot and Nuno Mendes, respectively, and, in the midfield, João Palhinha will be the most backward unit, behind Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva.
Portugal seeks to end the ‘curse’ of the first round of qualifying for the European Championships, having to go back to 1998 to find the last victory in a debut.
Our de Portugal: Rui Patricio; João Cancelo, Rúben Dias, Danilo, Gonçalo Inácio and Raphael Guerreiro; João Palhinha, Bruno Fernandes and Bernardo Silva; Joao Felix and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Substitutes from Portugal: José Sá, Celton Biai, Dalot, António Silva, Gonçalo Ramos, Rafael Leão, Otávio, João Mário, Rúben Neves, Nuno Mendes, Diogo Jota and Vitinha.
Onze do Liechtenstein: Buchel, Wolfinger, Malin, Traber, Hofer, Meier, Wieser, Frommelt, Hasler, Sele e Gassner.
Supplements to Liechtenstein: Ospelt, Lo Russo, Beck, Marco Wolfinger, Luchinger, Netzer, Frick, Kardesoglu, Lorenz, Yildiz, Fabio Wolfinger and Marxer.
Portugal-Liechtenstein, from the 1st round of Group J qualifying for Euro2024, kicks off at 7:45 pm in Alvalade. The game, which will be refereed by the Norwegian Espen Eskas, can be followed, AT THE MINUTE, as always, on SAPO Esporte.
