'Present and future!' – Why Jesus selected Cristiano Ronaldo and four new faces

New Portugal head coach Jorge Jesus officially announced his inaugural 25-player selection as the nation begins its defence of the UEFA Nations League title in Group A4. Legendary forward Cristiano Ronaldo leads the attack alongside four prominent additions to the setup.

Goalkeeper Samuel Soares earned his first senior international call-up as the primary surprise on the list.

Nuno Tavares, Joao Palhinha, and Fabio Silva also entered the squad after missing the recent 2026 World Cup final stage.

Jesus explained the rationale behind bringing in the four key additions, noting prior working relationships with three of them. The manager emphasized selecting players capable of delivering immediate impact while remaining core options for future international cycles.

He stressed that current domestic form played a central role in every decision.

"Of the four, apart from Fabio, who has not worked with me, the other three have worked with me before," Jesus stated. "They are players who already know me, and I know them. Except for Joao, they are in their early twenties, and in 2030 they still will not be 30, so they are players of the present and the future."

The 25-man selection features the return of Joao Palhinha after an international absence of nearly a year, while Jose Sa, Nelson Semedo, Samu Costa, Goncalo Guedes, and Matheus Nunes were omitted. The complete squad selection by position includes:

• Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa, Rui Silva, Samuel Soares.
• Defenders: Goncalo Inacio, Renato Veiga, Ruben Dias, Tomas Araujo, Joao Cancelo, Diogo Dalot, Nuno Tavares, Nuno Mendes.
• Midfielders: Bruno Fernandes, Joao Palhinha, Ruben Neves, Joao Neves, Vitinha, Bernardo Silva.
• Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo, Fabio Silva, Trincao, Francisco Conceicao, Goncalo Ramos, Joao Felix, Pedro Neto, Rafael Leao.

Jesus will make his official managerial debut on September 24 against Wales at the Alvalade stadium. Portugal then travel to face Norway three days later on September 27 before visiting Denmark on October 1.

The opening phase concludes with a second fixture against Norway at the Dragao stadium on October 4.

The squad will gather shortly to begin tactical preparations under their new head coach.