Roberto Martinez confirms whether Cristiano Ronaldo will start Portugal's Euro 2024 clash against Georgia
Portugal boss Roberto Martinez has said that captain Cristiano Ronaldo will start the team's final Euro 2024 group game on Wednesday (June 26) in Gelsenkirchen against Georgia. A Selecao have won the group with a game to spare.
Ronaldo and Co. are already through to the knockouts, having beaten the Czech Republic 2-1 and Turkey 3-0. The 39-year-old is yet to open his account at this year's Euros but unselfishly laid the ball on a platter to Bruno Fernandes in the Turkey game when he looked good to score himself.
Ronaldo has already created history at Euro 2024, becoming the first player to appear in six different editions of the Euros. He's now looking to become the first to score in that many different editions of the competitions and could do so in an essentially dead-rubber game against Georgia.
Martinez said after sealing a qualification berth that he would rest many of his starters. However, the Spaniard has announced on the eve of the Georgia game that Ronaldo will start (as per the Metro), explaining:
"Cristiano will be a starter tomorrow. He is an important player. He had a very consistent season and played every match, playing a lot of minutes.
"To continue the competitive pace, it is not a good idea to stop him playing now and then reactivate him in another six days. ‘The opponent in the round of 16 is not important now. Our focus is on the Georgia match. We want to win and give our best."
The Euro 2016 winners face the third-placed team from group A, B or C for a place in the quarterfinals on July 1.
Milestones awaiting Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo at Euro 2024
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo holds a slew of records at the European Championships. He's the competition's all-time topscorer in both qualifying (41) and finals (14).
With his assist in the previous game at Euro 2024, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner joined Czech Republic legend Karol Poborsky (eight) for most assists at the Euros. He's now looking to become the oldest scorer in the Euro finals, with Croatia's Luka Modric claiming that honour on Monday (June 24) in a 1-1 draw with Italy.
He's looking to become the first player to win multiple Golden Boots at the Euros. Ronaldo is also looking to become the oldest player to score in a Euro final and the first to score a hat-trick in the final as well.