Why won’t Cristiano Ronaldo be at Mexico vs Portugal for the reopening of the Estadio Banorte?

Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo will not be present for the friendly match between Mexico and Portugal, which will take place in this March FIFA Date, prior to the start of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. This caused the disappointment of thousands of Mexican fans, who were looking forward to seeing the former Real Madrid player

Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence is due to injury, which has kept him out of action since late February. As a result, he was not included in the Portugal squad for the friendly matches they will have in this FIFA Date in March, although the striker is expected to be fit for the World Cup

Many fans have expressed their dissatisfaction with Cristiano Ronaldo’s absence from the friendly match against Mexico, which will be the reopening of the Estadio Azteca. They have even asked for the intervention of the Federal Consumer Protection Agency (Profeco).

Portugal squad for match vs Mexico

Despite the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portugal national team still has great players who will put Javier Aguirre’s team to the test less than three months before the start of the 2026 World Cup. Here is the full squad for this match:

• Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (FC Porto), Jose Sa (Wolverhampton), Rui Silva (Real Betis).
• Defenders: Matheus Nunes (Manchester City), Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), João Cancelo (Barcelona), Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain), Gonçalo Inacio (Sporting Lisbon), Renato Veiga (Villarreal), Antonio Silva (Benfica), Tomas Araujo (Benfica).
• Midfielders: Ruben Neves (Al Hilal), Samu Costa (Mallorca), Mateus Fernandes (West Ham), Joao Neves (Paris Saint-Germain), Vitinha (Paris Saint-Germain), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Rodrigo Mora (FC Porto).
• Forwards: Ricardo Horta (Braga), Pedro Gonçalves (Sporting Lisbon), Joao Felix (Al Nassr), Francisco Trincao (Sporting Lisbon), Francisco Conceicao (Juventus), Rafael Leao (AC Milan), Pedro Neto (Chelsea), Goncalo Guedes (Real Sociedad), Goncalo Ramos (Paris Saint-Germain).

How serious is Cristiano Ronaldo’s injury?

Cristiano Ronaldo suffered a hamstring injury on February 28 during the match between Al Nassr and Al Fayha in the Saudi Pro League. Since then, the Portuguese striker has been working on his recovery to return to the pitch as soon as possible, as his priority is to be present at the 2026 World Cup.