By Victor Kanayo
Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo has been selected among a 26-man Portugal squad to prosecute Nigeria’s Super Eagles international friendly game and the 2022 World Cup.
While the friendly clash will happen on November 17, the quadrenial mundial will kick-off three days after in Qatar.
Among the players who have been called up and will be looking to supply Ronaldo in attack is AC Milan’s Rafael Leao and Atletico Madrid’s Joao Felix.
Other big names including Joao Cancelo, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva and Ruben Neves have also been called up.
Ronaldo’s club teammates Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot have also been picked by Portugal coach Fernando Santos.
The legendary Portuguese forward, now 37 years old, has played 191 times for his country and scored a record 117 goals.
He will no doubt play a major part at the mundial as Portugal look to be crowned world champions for the first time.
On the other hand, the list of those expected to play for Nigeria is not yet out, one week to the tune up match.
Already, there are indications of an existing frosty relationship between Super Eagles coach Jose Peseiro and his employees – Nigeria Football Federation due to non-payment of salary backlog.
Nigeria lost to Costa Rica 0-2 on Thursday November 10 in a friendly encounter prosecuted by only home-based players.
