Cristiano Ronaldo will lead Portugal into the World Cup after Fernando Santos named the veteran forward in his 26-man squad on Thursday.

The Manchester United striker, 37, has not been first choice for his club this season but will be part of his country’s bid to win the tournament for the first time in their history.

Ronaldo, the captain and all-time leading scorer in men’s international football with 117 goals, has plenty of younger team-mates in support in attack, including Atletico Madrid’s Joao Felix and AC Milan’s Rafael Leao.

“All the players I have called up come with the hunger to win and make Portugal world champions, Ronaldo included,” said Santos.

Ronaldo will go to his fifth World Cup, having played for his country in every edition of the tournament from 2006 onwards.

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