Cristiano Ronaldo is confirmed to be absent to strengthen Portugal against the US and Mexico 

Cristiano Ronaldo will not defend the Portuguese national team in the friendly matches against the United States and Mexico. (Instagram/@cristiano)

Cristiano Ronaldo is confirmed to be absent for Portugal's friendly matches against the US and Mexico, after his name was not included in the squad announced by the FPF via its official website, Friday.

This decision followed Al Nassr coach Jorge Jesus' statement earlier this month that Ronaldo had gone to Spain for hamstring treatment.

The 41-year-old striker was then absent when Al Nassr won against Neom and Al Khaleej in the Saudi Arabian League.

Al Nassr is also scheduled to play against Al Wasl from the United Arab Emirates in the AFC Champions League Two, before the match was postponed due to conflicts in the Middle East. Ronaldo has been Portugal's captain since 2008 and is also the country's all-time top scorer with 143 goals.

Thus Ronaldo must wait until the 2026 World Cup to be able to play again in the US.

The last time he appeared in the country was during a preseason tour with Real Madrid in 2017.

Portugal, as reported by Antara, is scheduled to face one of New Caledonia, Jamaica, or the Democratic Republic of Congo in their opening match of the World Cup at the NRG Stadium, Houston, on June 17. In addition to one of the three countries, Portugal will also face Uzbekistan and Colombia in Group K.

Ronaldo had previously been threatened with missing the first two matches of the tournament after receiving a red card in the qualifying match against Ireland.

However, the last two matches of the three-match ban were suspended for a one-year probationary period by the FIFA Disciplinary Committee.

Portugal national team squad:

Goalkeepers: Diogo Costa (Porto), Jose Sa (Wolverhampton Wanderers), Rui Silva (Sporting)

Defenders: Matheus Nunes (Manchester City), Diogo Dalot (Manchester United), Joao Cancelo (Barcelona), Nuno Mendes (PSG), Goncalo Inacio (Sporting), Renato Veiga (Villarreal), Antonio Silva (SL Benfica), Tomas Araujo (SL Benfica)

Midfielders: Ruben Neves (Al Hilal), Samu Costa (Mallorca), Mateus Fernandes (West Ham United), Joao Neves (PSG), Vitinha (PSG), Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United), Rodrigo Mora (Porto)

Attackers: Ricardo Horta (SC Braga), Pedro Goncalves (Sporting), Joao Felix (Al Nassr), Francisco Trincao (Sporting), Francisco Conceicao (Juventus), Rafael Leao (AC Milan), Pedro Neto (Chelsea), Goncalo Guedes (Real Sociedad), Goncalo Ramos (PSG)