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Legendary footballer Cristiano Ronaldo is set to feature in a record sixth FIFA World Cup at the age of 41 after Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez named him in a 27-man squad for the tournament, which also includes a symbolic "plus one" tribute to the late Diogo Jota.
Speaking at the Cidade do Futebol on Tuesday, Martinez confirmed that fourth-choice goalkeeper Ricardo Velho, currently with Genclerbirligi Ankara, will travel with the squad but can only be added to the official 26-man roster if one of the three registered goalkeepers suffers an injury. Portugal, the reigning Nations League champions, will begin their Group K campaign in Houston against the Democratic Republic of the Congo on June 17. They will then face Uzbekistan at the same venue on June 23 before concluding their group stage against Colombia in Miami on June 27. The tournament will run from June 11 to July 19. Martinez described his selection as "27 players plus one", referring to Jota, who was included as a symbolic presence following his tragic death in a car accident in July last year at the age of 28. "He is our strength, our joy," Martinez said as quoted by Al Jazeera. "Losing Diogo was an unforgettable and very difficult moment, but the very next day, it was up to all of us to fight for Diogo's dream and for the example he always set in our national team. Diogo Jota's spirit, strength and example are the +1 and will always be the +1," Martinez said. The coach defended his decision to name four goalkeepers and five fullbacks, while leaving out players including Mateus Fernandes, Ricardo Horta and Pedro Goncalves. "The complexity of the tournament is very important - the demands of the weather, the time zone, everything we already experienced in March," Martinez said. "There are positions where we need to have more than two players per position. And we need five fullbacks." Portugal will play a warm-up against Chile in Oeiras on June 6 and Nigeria in Leiria on June 10. FIFA has stipulated that the squad must be in their Palm Beach, Florida, training camp at least five days before their opening match. Portugal World Cup squad: Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (FC Porto), Jose Sa (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Rui Silva (Sporting CP); Ricardo Velho (Genclerbirligi Ankara). Defenders: Diogo Dalot (Manchester United); Matheus Nunes (Manchester City), Nelson Semedo (Fenerbahce SK), Joao Cancelo (FC Barcelona), Nuno Mendes (PSG), Goncalo Inacio (Sporting CP), Renato Veiga (Villarreal); Ruben Dias (Manchester City); Tomas Araujo (SL Benfica). Midfielders: Ruben Neves (Al Hilal), Samuel Costa (Mallorca), Joao Neves (PSG), Vitinha (PSG), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City). Forwards: Joao Felix (Al Nassr), Francisco Trincao (Sporting CP), Francisco Conceicao (Juventus), Pedro Neto (Chelsea), Rafael Leao (AC Milan), Goncalo Guedes (Real Sociedad), Goncalo Ramos (PSG); Cristiano Ronaldo (Al Nassr). (ANI)
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