Cristiano Ronaldo pictured enjoying training as he joins Portugal camp for upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers

Ronaldo will play for the first time since the World Cup
Ronaldo will play for the first time since the World Cup

Al-Nassr star Cristiano Ronaldo joined Portugal's training camp ahead of their 2024 Euro qualifiers and was pictured working out alongside his teammates.

The 38-year-old has been called up for his country's qualifying matches against Liechtenstein and Luxembourg this month by new manager Roberto Martinez.

Ronaldo was seen taking part in a stretching exercise and was pictured on a bike too, and looked happy to be back with the national team. His time with the Seleccao appeared to be over following their disappointing exit from the 2022 FIFA World Cup, where the forward scored just once.

Portugal reached the quarter-finals for the first time since 2006 but lost out 1-0 to Morocco despite Ronaldo coming off the bench in the second-half. He failed to inspire a turnaround and was seen heading to the dressing room in tears following what was most likely his final World Cup appearance. Then head coach Fernando Santos benched Ronaldo for both their knockout games, which soured their relations as the player was unhappy with his decision.

Weeks after the conclusion of the tournament, Ronaldo's shock move to Saudi Arabia to join Al-Nassr was made official, which further plunged his international career into uncertainty. Now that he's back in the fold, the former Real Madrid and Manchester United star might be aiming to play at Euro 2024 in Germany.

Ronaldo is the most capped Portuguese player of all-time with 196 caps and also their most prolific with 118 goals, an all-time record in international football.

Portugal host Liechtenstein on 23 March for their opening game of the qualifiers followed by a visit to Luxembourg on 26 March for their second game.


Ronaldo is hungry for more goals and glory with Portugal

Cristiano Ronaldo could've retired from Portugal after the 2022 FIFA World Cup and would've still gone down in history as the country's greatest ever player.

The talismanic skipper has achieved so much with the national team in nearly two decades, including winning their only two international titles in history - the Euro 2016 and the UEFA Nations League in 2019.

Although his World Cup dream could be left unfulfilled, Ronaldo will be eyeing to strike gold at next year's Euros, possibly his last major tournament with the Seleccao.

There are some personal milestones on the horizon too, as the star needs just four more caps to hit 200 appearances with the national team, a feat never achieved before in international football.

He's already the most prolific player on the international stage with 118 goals, but with his arch-rival Lionel Messi slowly closing in (98), Ronaldo will be eager to continue scoring and keep extending his record.

Portugal have also been drawn in a relatively easy group alongside minnows Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Iceland, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovakia, so you can expect him to bag a handful of strikes throughout their campaign.

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Edited by Siddharth Dhananjay
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