Cristiano Ronaldo shares confident message ahead of Nations League clash against Croatia; shares snaps from Portugal training

Cristiano Ronaldo has stated that he is ready for the upcoming UEFA Nations League ahead of Portugal's crunch clash against Croatia. The two teams face each other in a Group A1 match on Thursday (September 5).

Ronaldo, 39, continues to be a mainstay in his team's national set-up. He has already played 11 times in the competition, scoring seven goals, and notably helped his team win the inaugural Nations League title in the 2018-19 season.

Ahead of the match against Croatia, the Portuguese legend took to Instagram to share a few snaps from training and captioned the post:

"Prontos para a Liga das Nações! [Translation: Ready for the League of Nations!"

See the snaps below:

Portugal's group also has Poland and Scotland, and it is safe to assume that the 2016 UEFA Euros champions are one of the favorites to go through. Their last Nations League campaign (2022-23) ended in heartbreak as they were eliminated in the group stage, finishing just one point below table-toppers Spain in second.

Ronaldo played in five of those six group-stage matches, scoring and assisting two goals each.

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Cristiano Ronaldo has no plans of walking away from Portugal national team

Cristiano Ronaldo has claimed that he didn't plan on walking away from international football after a poor UEFA Euro 2024 campaign. To say that he had a poor outing in Germany would, for some, be an understatement.

Ronaldo wore the captain's armband in all five of his team's matches at the 2024 Euros but failed to score a single goal and grabbed just one assist. His team were eventually bundled out of the tournament by France in the quarterfinals (0-0 A.E.T, 3-5 on pens).

Asked whether he contemplated retirement after the competition, a defiant Ronaldo said in comments furnished earlier this month (via GOAL):

"That's all from the press. It never crossed my mind that my cycle had come to an end. Quite the opposite: it gave me even more motivation to continue, to be honest."

Ronaldo has 212 senior international caps and 130 goals to his name — both world records in men's football.