Will Cristiano Ronaldo play for Portugal against Türkiye? Euro 2024

Cristiano Ronaldo, the all-time leading scorer in football, is competing in his sixth European Championship, aiming to replicate the 2016 success when Portugal won the title. The Al Nassr forward did not score in their opening match of the tournament, but the team secured three crucial points. This win boosts their chances of advancing past the group stage and sets their sights on surpassing the round of 16, where they were eliminated in the previous Euros.

Türkiye – Turkey officially changed its spelling via the UN in 2021 (more on that below) – faces uncertainty regarding the availability of one of their standout players, 19-year-old Real Madrid midfielder Arda Güler. Güler scored one of the best goals of Euro 2024 in their opening game with a stunning left-footed strike into the top corner. However, his coach, Vincenzo Montella, expressed concerns about his fitness: “He’s tired, so we will decide at the last minute whether to play him tomorrow. I hope to have him available, but unfortunately, he’s not physically at 100%.”

What does Portugal need to progress in Euro 24?

Portugal needs to secure a win against Türkiye to approach their third and final group match against Georgia with the comfort of knowing that progression to the knockout stages is assured. Other than that, much will depend on how the earlier game between the two losing sides in the opening games (Czechia and Georgia) goes.

We expect that the Real Madrid legend will start in the following line-up:

Portugal predicted XI: Costa; Dias, Pepe, Inacio; Cancelo, Vitinha, Fernandes, Mendes; Jota, Ronaldo, Silva.

Why is Turkey now called Türkiye?

I admit that this is a slight interlude, but we’ll be right back with some more Portugal after this...

In January 2022, it was revealed that the government of then-Turkey planned to register the name Türkiye with the United Nations. State-run media outlet TRT World reported that Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu sent letters to the UN and other international organisations in May of that year, requesting that they use Türkiye, which was agreed upon.

The reason behind the switch is simple: the country argued that the move swaps out the country’s English-language name with its Turkish-language name: Türkiye means Turkey in Turkish. It also avoids confusion when searching online; no longer do we need to type Turkey (country) to avoid getting photos of everyone’s favourite Christmas dinner meal.

As for the new pronunciation, it’s simple as well: the two words are indeed said similarly, but Türkiye has an extra syllable at the end - pronounced “yay.” That’s all, back to Portugal now...

Cristiano Ronaldo looks for a new victim in Türkiye

Having failed to score against the Czech Republic in their opening match, Ronaldo will be desparate to find the net in this edition of the Euros. He is also closing in on the milestone of 900 career goals. However, he will face a Turkish side that has so far managed to keep him at bay.

Portugal with Cristiano has faced Türkiye three times. The Portuguese triumphed in the Euro 2008 and during a World Cup qualifier, but Türkiye managed to win in a friendly match in June 2012. In all three encounters, Ronaldo failed to score against them. Eager to break his goal drought and inch closer to 900 goals, Ronaldo will be a formidable challenge for Türkiye. Meanwhile, Türkiye dreams of making history by claiming the top spot in the group with a victory at Signal Iduna Park.