Portugal Back with Martínez as Coach, Ronaldo in the Squad

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo during a training session of the national team at Soccer City, Oeiras, Portugal, 20 March 2023. (EPA)
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo during a training session of the national team at Soccer City, Oeiras, Portugal, 20 March 2023. (EPA)
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Portugal Back with Martínez as Coach, Ronaldo in the Squad

Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo during a training session of the national team at Soccer City, Oeiras, Portugal, 20 March 2023. (EPA)
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo during a training session of the national team at Soccer City, Oeiras, Portugal, 20 March 2023. (EPA)

It’s a new era for Portugal as it begins European Championship qualifying under a new coach.

Portugal starts its Euro 2024 qualifying campaign at home against Liechtenstein in Group J on Thursday, with Roberto Martínez debuting as coach and Cristiano Ronaldo still in the squad.

It will be Ronaldo’s first appearance with Portugal since leaving Europe for Saudi club Al Nassr after a mostly disappointing stint with Manchester United. He is set to break the all-time record of appearances with a national team after tying Bader Al-Mutawa’s mark of 196 outings for Kuwait during last year's World Cup.

Martínez is taking over Fernando Santos, who quit in December after Portugal’s elimination by Morocco in the quarterfinals of the World Cup. Santos left amid the controversy of benching Ronaldo in the knockout stage of the tournament in Qatar.

Santos was in charge of Portugal for eight years, leading the national team to the Euro 2016 title — the country’s first major trophy — and the 2019 Nations League title. He reached an agreement with the federation to leave two years before his contract was to end.

Martínez ended his six-year stint with Belgium after the team’s disappointing group-stage elimination at the World Cup. He arrived pledging to respect Ronaldo’s history with the national team.

In addition to Ronaldo, Martínez will inherit a squad filled with talented players such as Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Diogo Jota, Gonçalo Ramos and João Félix. The coach made few changes to the squad, with 40-year-old defender Pepe also returning to play alongside the 38-year-old Ronaldo.

“We were briefly introduced to him on the training field,” Félix said about Martínez. “He explained to us some of his ideas, mainly for these two games, which are going to be very similar. He talked about the attacking dynamic, the connections between wingers and strikers.”

Félix downplayed Portugal’s chances in the matches against Liechtenstein and at Luxembourg on Sunday.

“We always have to be prepared and not take any game lightly,” he said. “We have the recent example of the World Cup, when everyone thought we were going to get past Morocco and we didn’t. It’s always complicated, it’s always the best from each country, and everyone plays each game like it is a final. All games will be difficult, both at home and away. We have to be cautious.”

Portugal is unbeaten against Liechtenstein, with six wins and a draw in seven matches.

Portugal’s Euro 2024 qualifying group also includes Iceland, Slovakia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The top two nations from each of the 10 groups qualify for the final tournament in Germany.



Saudi Al-Hilal Surge into Asian Champions League Semis by Thrashing Gwangju

Al-Hilal players celebrate after a goal is scored. (SPA)
Al-Hilal players celebrate after a goal is scored. (SPA)
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Saudi Al-Hilal Surge into Asian Champions League Semis by Thrashing Gwangju

Al-Hilal players celebrate after a goal is scored. (SPA)
Al-Hilal players celebrate after a goal is scored. (SPA)

Al-Hilal powered into the semi-finals of the Asian Champions League Elite in Jeddah on Friday as Jorge Jesus's Saudi Pro League side demolished South Korea's Gwangju 7-0 to move closer to a record-extending fifth continental title.

Goals from Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, Marcos Leonardo and Salem Al-Dawsari inside the first 33 minutes sent the four-times champions on their way, with Aleksandar Mitrovic, Malcom, Nasser Al-Dawsari and Abdullah Al-Hamddan on target after the interval.

"The players who played today were under a lot of pressure but they played at their usual level," said Jesus. "Without their commitment we wouldn't achieve what we achieved today. We are on the right path."

The result at a raucous King Abdullah Sports City Stadium means Al-Hilal will take on the winners of Saturday's quarter-final between fellow Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli and Thailand's Buriram United.

Al-Hilal, continental champions in 1991, 2000, 2019 and 2021 and runners-up on five other occasions, were several levels above the K-League side, who are appearing in the competition for the first time.

Milinkovic-Savic gave the Saudi side the perfect start in the sixth minute, the midfielder peeling away from his marker to meet Salem Al-Dawsari's corner with a glancing header that beat Kim Kyeong-in for pace from the edge of the six-yard box.

Goalkeeper Yassine Bounou denied the Koreans the opportunity to strike back almost immediately when he blocked Jasir Asani's attempt after the Albanian winger had been played in behind the Al-Hilal defense.

Gwangju were to rue that miss in the 25th minute when Leonardo doubled Al-Hilal's lead, the Brazilian beating Kim low and at his near post when he met Malcom's cutback with a first-time strike.

Eight minutes later Salem Al-Dawsari effectively killed the game after racing on to Leonardo's ball from deep inside the Al-Hilal half, outpacing the Gwangju defense before calmly sliding his shot to Kim's right.

Mitrovic hit the fourth goal 10 minutes into the second half, making no mistake as he slotted in Milinkovic-Savic's bobbling cross from the right with a first-time finish.

Malcom beat Kim with 11 minutes remaining and substitute Nasser Al-Dawsari's deflected strike gave Al-Hilal their sixth goal five minutes later. Al-Hamddan's unstoppable right-foot shot in the 88th minute completed Gwangju's humiliation.

The latter stages of the revamped Asian Champions League Elite are being played on a centralized basis in Jeddah, with Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr due to face Yokohama F Marinos on Saturday.

Kawasaki Frontale from Japan take on Qatar's Al-Sadd on Sunday, with the semi-finals to be held on Tuesday and Wednesday. The final will be played on May 3.