Cristiano Ronaldo to lead Portugal into record sixth European Championship

Cristiano Ronaldo

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.

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.

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.