After the 5-2 win against Sweden, coach Martinez allowed 8 pillars of the Portuguese team to return to the club early. These include Bernardo Silva, Ruben Dias, Joao Palhinha, Nelson Semedo, Toti Gomes, Rafael Leao, Bruno Fernandes and Goncalo Ramos.
At the same time, Coach Martinez also called in new players to prepare for the next friendly match with Slovenia at dawn next Wednesday (March 27).
Notable stars who will likely appear in Portugal’s squad in this match include Diogo Dalot, Joao Cancelo, Danilo Pereira, Otavio, Ruben Neves, Vitinha, Joao Felix and captain Cristiano Ronaldo.
Previously, coach Martinez gave Ronaldo and these stars a break from playing in the friendly match against Sweden. According to ESPN, Ronaldo wanted to have a short vacation with his family in Saudi Arabia when the Saudi Pro League was suspended, so he also proactively asked not to play in the match against Sweden.
On his personal Instagram page, CR7 just posted a photo of him practicing with his teammates in Portugal and cleverly showing off his famous sharp thigh muscles.
With Ronaldo returning, Bruma will have to choose a different shirt number in the Slovenia match. Previously, Bruma became the first player to wear number 7 at Seleccao instead of Ronaldo since 2007 and he scored 1 goal in the win over Sweden.
Meeting the weak team Slovenia is an opportunity for Ronaldo to increase his international scoring record. To date, CR7 has played 205 times for the national team and scored 128 goals. Besides, Ronaldo is also determined to perform his best at the EURO 2024 finals held in Germany. According to the draw results, Portugal entered the group with the Czech Republic, Türkiye and the winner of the play-off match.
