The 2026 World Cup is getting closer, and national teams continue their preparations. Portugal are one of the main contenders and will need to arrive at the tournament in the best possible form. As part of those preparations, Roberto Martinez‘s team will face Chile in a friendly match, where Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to play.
To host the South American side at Portugal’s National Stadium, these are the eleven players that the Spanish coach is expected to name in the starting lineup: Diogo Costa; Diogo Dalot, Ruben Dias, Goncalo Inacio, Joao Cancelo; Ruben Neves, Samu Costa; Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandez, Rafael Leao; Cristiano Ronaldo.
Chile, meanwhile, are expected to field the following starting lineup: Lawrence Vigouroux; Igor Lichnovsky, Guillermo Maripan, Francisco Sierralta, Gabriel Suazo; Damian Pizarro, Felipe Loyola, Maximiliano Gutierrez, Dario Osorio, Matias Sepulveda; Gonzalo Tapia.
Preparations for the 2026 World Cup
Portugal are expected to be one of the leading contenders to win the 2026 World Cup, and one of the keys to their success could be arriving at the tournament opener in the best possible condition. The friendly match against Chile will not be the team’s only warm-up game, nor its last.
Roberto Martinez of Portugal.
Next Wednesday, June 10, Roberto Martinez and his players will wrap up their friendly schedule in a high-profile matchup, as the European side takes on Nigeria.
Portugal chase World Cup glory
Cristiano Ronaldo and the Portugal national team will compete in Group K during the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. They are scheduled to kick off their tournament on June 17 against DR Congo at NRG Stadium in Houston. Following their opener, the Euro giants will face Uzbekistan on June 23 at the same Houston venue, before wrapping up the initial phase with a highly anticipated match against Colombia on June 27 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
