Cristiano Ronaldo set to start for Portugal against Wales, says Jorge Jesus

Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to start Portugal’s opening UEFA Nations League 2027 match against Wales on Thursday, although new manager Jorge Jesus has warned that the captain will not play every game.

Jesus is preparing to take charge of Portugal for the first time when they face Wales in the opening round of the group stage. The 71-year-old held his first pre-match news conference on Wednesday, with much of the focus on whether Ronaldo was fit enough to begin and play the full 90 minutes.

“Today will be my first training session with Portugal on the pitch; yesterday was a recovery session,” Jesus said.

Asked about Ronaldo, the Al Nassr forward and Portugal’s captain, Jesus added: “If nothing exceptional happens today, Ronaldo will start tomorrow.”

The manager, however, said Ronaldo’s status as one of Portugal’s leading figures would not guarantee him a place in every match.

“I can see that your concern is focused on whether Cristiano is ready to play,” Jesus told reporters. “Cristiano is an icon of Portugal, but that does not give him the right to play every match.”

Jesus then pointed to the difference Ronaldo makes to attendances, saying: “To give you an idea, we played a match in Hong Kong without him and there were 5,000 spectators. When he played, there were 55,000.

“He will play tomorrow. I hope he scores one or two goals and I will take him off immediately.”

Portugal are the holders of the Nations League and Jesus said retaining the trophy would be the team’s main objective.

“I am with a team that has the best players in the world, and wherever I go I play to win,” he said. “In the Nations League, we are the holders, so we have to defend it.”

Jesus was appointed Portugal manager recently and Thursday’s match will be his first in charge of the national side. He rejected the suggestion that working with a country was significantly different from managing a club.

“Many people say that managing a national team is not the same as managing a club,” he said. “I have not noticed any difference.

“I am at the federation every day. When I was at a club, I arrived in the morning and left at five or six in the evening. I have not noticed any difference.”