Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez is expected to introduce Cristiano Ronaldo into his starting side for Tuesday's international friendly with Republic of Ireland.

The national side have already played two warm-up matches for Euro 2024, beating Finland 4-2 on June 4, before suffering a 2-1 defeat to Croatia on Saturday night.

Ronaldo was an unused substitute against Croatia, but the 39-year-old is now likely to be brought into the XI, as Portugal take to the field for the final time before their European Championship opener against the Czech Republic on June 18.

Martinez will make changes to the side that started last time out, with Antonio Silva and Joao Cancelo also in line to come into the side, while Diogo Jota could also be introduced in the final third of the field.

Bruno Fernandes and Joao Palhinha are two certain starters in the Portugal midfield this summer, and the pair should again be in the XI, while Vitinha is also expected to retain his spot.

Manchester City duo Ruben Dias and Bernardo Silva are also likely to again feature from the first whistle.

Rafael Leao was involved off the bench against Croatia and could receive 45 more minutes in this contest, while Joao Neves, who continues to be linked with a big-money move to Manchester United, is again expected to be given a chance to make his mark at some stage of the fixture.

Portugal possible starting lineup: Costa; Cancelo, A Silva, Dias, Dalot; Fernandes, Palhinha, Vitinha; Bernardo, Ronaldo, Jota

Written by
Matt Law