UEFA Nations League: Is Cristiano Ronaldo playing for Portugal against Czech Republic?

After an emphatic 4-0 win over Switzerland in their previous UEFA Nations League game, the Portugal football team will now take on the Czech Republic in their next clash on Thursday night. The game will commence live at 12.15 a.m. IST on June 10, from the Estadio Jose Alvalade in Lisbon.

With the Seleção drawn into a difficult group alongside Spain, Switzerland and the Czech Republic, they will need all the points they can to qualify for the knockout stages. With that in mind, they will also require their best players to be on the pitch. Hence, here is a look at whether Cristiano Ronaldo is playing for Portugal against the Czech Republic.

Is Cristiano Ronaldo playing against Czech Republic?

Having played the full 90 minutes against Switzerland, Cristiano Ronaldo's fitness will mostly likely be evaluated before Portugal football team coach Fernando Santos decides whether the 37-year-old is fit to start. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner was given a rest in the Selecao's opening UEFA Nations League game against Spain before he played the whole match against Switzerland, in which he also scored a fantastic brace.

With games coming thick and fast, Santos had highlighted that he would make several changes to the team, suggesting that there is a chance that Ronaldo may indeed be dropped to the bench once again for the game against the Czech Republic. Here is a look at what Santos said after he dropped the 37-year-old in Portugal's opening game against Spain:

"It was just one option. A manager's option, a tactical option - this is how these four games are going to be decided. For this game, I thought it was important having a player like Andre [Silva] starting. He is hard-working, closes in behind, he can do a few things that Cristiano cannot in the same way.

The 67-year old went on to add, "Cristiano can do many other things and that is why he is the best player in the world. But this was my choice this time. I am going to rotate the players a lot during the next three games. And they all need to be ready, as expected of them."