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Cristiano Ronaldo is set to miss out when Portugal hosts Sweden in an international friendly on Thursday, March 21, at the Estadio Dom Afonso Henriques.
Ronaldo has been picked in the squad for Selecao's two friendly games in March against Sweden and Slovenia. Manager Roberto Martinez, however, has not included the five-time Ballon d'Or winner in the squad to face the Scandinavian nation. According to GOAL, the team management decided to give Ronaldo some more rest from his Saudi Pro League campaign.
It is, however, worth mentioning that Cristiano Ronaldo is not the only Portugal star to have been given a break. According to the aforementioned source, the likes of Joao Cancelo, Joao Felix, Ruben Neves and Diogo Dalot are also rested for the Sweden friendly.
Roberto Martinez, however, still has a plethora of attacking options to choose from for the friendly game. Goncalo Ramos and Rafael Leao are still available for selection.
Despite turning 39 earlier this year, Ronaldo is still in great goalscoring form. The superstar forward has scored 30 goals and provided 11 assists in 33 matches across all competitions for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.
Cristiano Ronaldo guided Portugal to Euro 2024 qualification last year
GOAL, however, does mention that Cristiano Ronaldo could return and get some game time in Portugal's second friendly against Slovenia. The former Manchester United attacker will form an integral part of his nation's bid to win Euro 2024 in the summer in Germany.
Ronaldo played an integral part in guiding Portugal to the showpiece tournament. The Al-Nassr star scored 10 goals and provided two assists from nine matches in Euro Group J of the qualifying campaign.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored four braces in the qualification group stage. These were scored against Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Slovakia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Ronaldo's heroics meant that Portugal topped their qualifying group by winning all 10 matches. They are now drawn against Turkey, the Czech Republic and the winner of Path C of the playoffs in Group F at Euro 2024.
Roberto Martinez's side will be hoping for a strong showing at the tournament in Germany. The Iberian nation will be wanting to win their second European championship after they first won it back in 2016 in France, beating the hosts in the final.
