On Friday Portugal are set to announce their squad for November’s Nations League fixtures, against Denmark at home and Wales away, in the first fixtures of the post Cristiano Ronaldo era. The announcement comes a day after the 41 year old forward confirmed his retirement from international football, ending a 23 year career that brought a record 146 goals in 234 appearances. The squad list, normally a routine document, will be read this time as a statement about the future: who replaces the most capped player in men international football, and how does a team built around one man learn to play without him.
Why it matters
The practical questions are immediate. Portugal must choose a captain, a striker, and a way of playing that does not depend on a single forward. Ronaldo was not only the goalscorer but the focal point, the player around whom attacks were built and defences were organised, and his absence changes the geometry of the team. The coach, Jorge Jesus, whose reported fallout with Ronaldo preceded the retirement, now has the authority to build the team he wants, but he also has the responsibility for the results that follow. The first squad will show whether he intends a revolution or a gradual transition.
The emotional questions are harder. Ronaldo farewell message, in which he said the day had come to hand back the number seven shirt, was addressed to the Portuguese people, and the response from fans, from former team mates, and from the federation has been one of gratitude mixed with sadness. Goncalo Ramos, the 25 year old Milan striker who spent much of his Portugal career as Ronaldo understudy, reshared the announcement with a short farewell message, and he is among the players most likely to benefit from the vacancy. The shirt will be worn by someone else, and the crowd will need time to accept it.
What happens next
The fixtures themselves matter. Denmark at home and Wales away are Nations League matches with real stakes, and they will be the first test of a Portugal team that must prove it can win without its greatest player. The opponents will not wait for the transition to settle, and the results will be read as a verdict on the new era before it has properly begun. That is unfair, but it is the nature of international football: a team is judged by its last result, and Portugal last result with Ronaldo was a 1-0 home victory over Wales on September 24.
What happens next is the squad announcement, and then the matches, and then the long process of building a team for the next World Cup cycle. Ronaldo will continue his club career with Al-Nassr, chasing a 1,000th career goal, and the Portuguese Football Federation has said it will organise a fitting tribute to his immense career. Whether that tribute takes place on the pitch remains unclear. For now, the focus is Friday list, and the names on it will be the first answer to the question that Portuguese football has avoided for 23 years: who are we, without Cristiano Ronaldo.
