UEFA Nations League 2022: Is Cristiano Ronaldo playing for Portugal against Spain?

Spanish national football team is up against Portugal on opening day of UEFA Nationa League 2022 tournament on Thursday night. Spain will host Group 2 match at Benito Villamarin Stium in Seville and both teams also find Czech Republic and Switzerland in ir group. Portugal will kickstart ir 2022-23 season with tournament, looking to kick off preparations for FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.

Will Cristiano Ronaldo play for Portugal against Spain on Thursday night?

Meanwhile, Portuguese captain Cristiano Ronaldo has been included in squ, coming off a stellar domestic season with Manchester United. Although United suffered from dismal performance, Ronaldo emerged as leing goal scorer with 18 Premier League goals and 24 goals across competitions. He also helped national team win World Cup playoffs and qualify for mega event, scheduled to begin in November in Qatar.

Ronaldo joined national squ at ir training base, Cide do Futebol in Alges, and trained fully for match against Spain. Portugal manager Fernando Santos confirmed that squ has no injury concerns with Diogo Jota and Rafael Leao joining squ late due to extended club seasons. However, Vitinha will be absent after testing positive for Covid-19. Even if Ronaldo has not played a game since Manchester United’s 4-0 loss at Brighton, he is likely to le team against manager Luis Enrique’s squ.

Cristiano Ronaldo- Portugal's leing goal scorer and leing appearance maker

By playing game against Spain on Thursday night, Ronaldo will make his 187th appearance for national team and continue to better his record. Ronaldo is team’s leing appearance maker and alrey has 115 goals to his credit, which is 2.5 times more than second-most goal scorer Pauleta (47). At same time, he is second most capped and currently active player in international football.

Spain vs Portugal, UEFA Nations League 2022: Predicted Lineups

Spain predicted starting lineup: Simon; Azpilicueta, E Garcia, P Torres, Alba; Thiago, Busquets, Koke; Gavi, Morata, F Torres

Portugal predicted starting lineup: Patricio; Cancelo, Pepe, Danilo, Guerreiro; Fernandes, Moutinho, Bernardo; Otavio, Ronaldo, Jota

(Image: @selecaoportugal/Twitter)