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Portugal skipper Cristiano Ronaldo has sent out a message to his team ahead of their upcoming match against Luxembourg.
A Selecao will host the Red Lions at the Estadio Algarve in a UEFA EURO 2024 qualifier on Monday, September 11. This will be both teams' sixth qualifying match. Portugal are currently atop Group J, having won all of their five contests so far while scoring 15 goals without response.
Luxembourg, on the other hand, are third with three wins and a draw.
Portugal will notably be without Cristiano Ronaldo, who is suspended for this match. The Al-Nassr superstar received a yellow card in his nation's last game, a 1-0 win over Slovakia. As it was his third booking in five matches, he earned an automatic suspension for Monday's contest.
While he won't be on the pitch, Ronaldo took to social media to send out a rallying cry to his teammates. He wrote on his Instagram story (translated from Portuguese):
"Good luck team! Let's go!! 💪🏻 "
You can view the story below:
Luxembourg are notably one of Ronaldo's favorite opponents, with the five-time Ballon d'Or winner scoring 11 times against them in 11 games. He notably netted a brace in the two teams' last meeting back in March this year to guide his nation to a 6-0 win.
Looking at how Cristiano Ronaldo has fared in Portugal's UEFA EURO 2024 qualifying campaign
Cristiano Ronaldo has evidently benefitted from Roberto Martinez's appointment as head coach of Portugal. The all-time top-scorer in men's international football has scored five times in five UEFA EURO 2024 qualifiers for A Selecao.
While he is yet to record an assist, Ronaldo has recorded 1.0 key passes per game. He has also averaged 1.8 possessions won, 2.8 balls recovered and 0.8 fouls won per contest.
Monday's match could have presented him with an opportunity to add to his tally of 123 goals in 201 caps for his nation. Instead, he will have to wait until the next international break, which is roughly a month away, to do so.
Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to be back in action on Saturday, September 16, when Al-Nassr take on Al-Raed in the Saudi Pro League.
